Skeletal Radiology

, Volume 44, Issue 6, pp 777–786 | Cite as

Focus on Merkel cell carcinoma: diagnosis and staging

  • Marion Grandhaye
  • Pedro Gondim Teixeira
  • Philippe Henrot
  • Olivier Morel
  • Francois Sirveaux
  • Jean-Luc Verhaeghe
  • Alain Blum
Review Article
First Online:
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare lymphophilic skin tumor of neuroendocrine origin with the potential for rapid progression. Small, localized lesions are diagnosed and treated clinically, but advanced tumors often undergo imaging evaluation. Due to its rarity, radiologists are unaware of evocative imaging features and usually do not consider Merkel cell carcinoma in the differential diagnosis of soft tissue tumors. Appropriate staging is important to determine appropriate treatment and has an impact on patient prognosis. Multimodality imaging is usually needed, and there is no consensus on the optimal imaging strategy. The purpose of this article is to review various aspects of Merkel cell carcinoma imaging and look in detail at how optimal multimodality staging should be carried out.

Keywords

Merkel cell carcinoma Imaging Staging 

Abbreviations

AJCC

American Joint Committee on Cancer

18F-FDG

F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose

18F-DOPA

3,4-Dihydroxy-6 (18F) fluoro-phenylalanine

MRI

Magnetic resonance imaging

McPyv

Merkel cell polyomavirus

PET-CT

Positron emission tomography and computerized tomography

SUV

Standardized uptake value

TNM

Tumor node metastasis

UV

Ultraviolet

VIH or HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus

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Notes

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Copyright information

© ISS 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Marion Grandhaye
    • 1
  • Pedro Gondim Teixeira
    • 1
  • Philippe Henrot
    • 2
  • Olivier Morel
    • 3
  • Francois Sirveaux
    • 4
  • Jean-Luc Verhaeghe
    • 5
  • Alain Blum
    • 1
  1. 1.Imagerie Guilloz CHU de Nancy Hôpital CentralNancyFrance
  2. 2.Service de Radiologie Institut de Cancerologie de LorraineVandoeuvre les NancyFrance
  3. 3.Médecine Nucléaire CHU Nancy Hôpital BraboisVancoeuvre les NancyFrance
  4. 4.Service de Chirurgie Centre chirurgical Emile GalléNancyFrance
  5. 5.Service de Chirurgie Institut de Cancerologie de LorraineVandoeuvre les NancyFrance

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