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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Sep 6.
Published in final edited form as: J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2009 Mar;7(3):322–332. doi: 10.6004/jnccn.2009.0024

CHEMOTHERAPY AGENTS2

Local disease:

  • Adjuvant chemotherapy not recommended unless clinical judgment dictates otherwise

Regional disease:

  • Adjuvant chemotherapy not routinely recommended because adequate trials to evaluate usefulness have not been performed, but could be used on a case-by-case basis if clinical judgment dictates

  • Cisplatin alone or combined with etoposide

  • Carboplatin alone or combined with etoposide

Disseminated disease:

  • Cisplatin plus etoposide

  • Carboplatin plus etoposide

  • Cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin (or epirubicin), and vincristine

  • Topotecan has been used
2

When available and clinically appropriate, enrollment in a clinical trial is recommended. The literature is not directive regarding the specific chemotherapeutic agent(s) offering superior outcomes, but the literature does provide evidence that Merkel cell carcinoma is chemosensitive, although the responses are not durable, and the agents listed above have been used with some success.