Development of metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma following the excision of same‐sided recurrent auricular melanoma

• Published in: Clinical case reports Vol. 10; no. 5; pp. e05891 - n/a
• Main Authors: Cartwright, Jake K., Snyder, Daniel H., Moreno, Francisco G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-05-2022; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: auricular melanoma; Breast cancer; Cancer therapies; Case Report; Case Reports; Lymphatic system; Lymphoma; Medical prognosis; Melanoma; Merkel cell carcinoma; Metastasis; Pathology; Patients; Radiation therapy; second cancer; Skin cancer; Tumors; Ultrasonic imaging; auricular melanoma; melanoma; Merkel cell carcinoma; second cancer
• ISSN: 2050-0904; 2050-0904
• DOI: 10.1002/ccr3.5891

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare neuroendocrine malignancy of the skin that is highly aggressive and often metastasizes early. MCC is diagnosed based on histopathological findings and is most commonly treated with surgical resection, which may be accompanied by chemotherapy and/or radiation. This report describes a 55‐year‐old male patient with the history of recurrent malignant melanoma of the right pinna and subsequent excision. Three years following the excision of melanoma, he presented with a lesion to the right forehead as well as a right‐sided neck mass that were found to be metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma.
Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare cutaneous malignancy that should not be overlooked when evaluating an individual with a new skin lesion and possible metastasis, especially in those with history of other cutaneous malignancies such as melanoma.