Table 1.
Host, Tumor, Diagnostic, and Treatment Characteristics of the KPNC MCC Cohort (1995–2009)
| Characteristic | No. (%) of Patientsa |
|---|---|
| Host Variables | |
| Age at diagnosis, y | |
| <60 | 23 (10.6) |
| 60–74 | 72 (33.0) |
| 75–85 | 88 (40.4) |
| >85 | 35 (16.1) |
| Sex | |
| Male | 137 (62.8) |
| Female | 81 (37.2) |
| Race | |
| White | 208 (95.4) |
| Otherb | 10 (4.6) |
| Immunosuppression | |
| None | 205 (94.0) |
| Yesc | 13 (6.0) |
| Tumor Variables | |
| Site of primary lesion | |
| Head and neck | 98 (45.0) |
| Upper limb | 52 (23.9) |
| Lower limb | 23 (10.6) |
| Trunk | 8 (3.7) |
| Buttocks | 9 (4.1) |
| Genitalia | 2 (0.9) |
| Unknown primary site | 26 (11.9) |
| Size, cm | |
| ≤2 | 77 (35.3) |
| >2 | 24 (11.0) |
| Unknownd | 117 (53.7) |
| Extent at diagnosise | |
| Local | 126 (57.8) |
| Regional | 56 (25.7) |
| Distant | 35 (16.1) |
| Unknown | 1 (0.5) |
| Diagnostic Variablesf | |
| Imaging | |
| Computed tomography | 128 (58.7) |
| Magnetic resonance imaging | 27 (12.4) |
| Positron emission tomography | 50 (22.9) |
| Other, including chest radiography | 154 (70.6) |
| None | 27 (12.4) |
| Pathologic nodal evaluation | |
| None | 129 (59.2) |
| SLNB only | 26 (11.9) |
| LAD only, other than SLNB | 40 (18.3) |
| Both SLNB and LAD | 23 (10.6) |
| Pathologic nodal evaluation results | |
| Positive SLNB finding (of 49 SLNB) | 18 (36.7) |
| Positive LAD finding (of 63 LAD) | 24 (38.1) |
| Treatment Variablesf | |
| Initial treatment modality | |
| None | 28 (12.8) |
| Surgery alone | 79 (36.2) |
| Radiation therapy alone | 18 (8.3) |
| Chemotherapy alone | 7 (3.2) |
| Surgery and radiation therapy | 64 (29.4) |
| Surgery and chemotherapy | 11 (5.0) |
| Radiation therapy and chemotherapy | 7 (3.2) |
| Surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy | 4 (1.8) |
| Initial tumor treatment | |
| Any surgery | 158 (72.5) |
| Clear margins | 137 (62.8) |
| Positive margins | 15 (6.9) |
| Missing information on margins | 6 (2.8) |
| Any radiation therapy | 93 (42.7) |
| Any chemotherapy | 29 (13.3) |
Abbreviations: KPNC, Kaiser Permanente Northern California; LAD, lymphadenectomy; MCC, Merkel cell carcinoma; SLNB, sentinel lymph node biopsy.
Sample size totals 218 unless otherwise specified. Percentages have been rounded and might not total 100.
Includes Asian (n = 7), black (n = 2), and other (n = 1).
Includes human immunodeficiency virus (n = 2), solid organ transplant (n = 4), and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (n = 7).
Includes unknown primary site (n = 26) and no size available (n = 91).
Staging is described by Lemos et al2 with grouping as follows: local includes stages IA, IB, IIA, IIB, and localized disease with no size available to further stage; regional, stages IIIA and IIIB and nodal; and distant, stage IV and regional/distant metastasis not otherwise specified.
Defined as occurring within 3 months of initial diagnosis. Categories are not exclusive.