{"doi":"10.1002/cncr.35507","title":"Changes in Merkel cell oncoprotein antibodies after radiation therapy in curatively treated Merkel cell carcinoma and association with recurrence","abstract":"BACKGROUND: Serum antibodies to the Merkel oncoprotein (AMERK) are detectable in approximately 50% of patients with Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) and can be used to monitor for recurrence. The objective of this study was to characterize AMERK levels in patients receiving curative-intent radiation therapy (RT) for MCC and identify associations between AMERK and recurrence. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of patients with MCC who had baseline AMERK measurements before they received curative-intent RT from 2010 to 2020. Event-free survival (EFS) was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression. The cumulative incidence of MCC-related recurrence (CIMR) was analyzed with death as a competing risk and the Gray test. RESULTS: The authors identified 88 patients who had baseline AMERK measurements, including 52 (59%) with detectable levels. AMERK positivity was associated with younger median age (67.8 vs. 72.0 years; p = .02) and tumor site (p = 0.02), with lower rates for those who had disease in the head/neck region (17.3% vs. 44.4%). EFS (71.3% vs. 60.4%; p = .30) and CIMR (24.4% vs. 39.6%; p = .23) were more favorable in AMERK-positive patients. Two patients had recurrences in the RT field, and both were AMERK-negative at baseline. The median time to AMERK nadir after RT was 11.2 months; and, in a 6-month post-RT landmark analysis, the proportion of patients who were AMERK-positive who became negative or who had levels that decreased by ≥50% were not associated with EFS (87.1% vs. 85.0%; p = .90) or CIMR (12.9% vs. 15.0%; p = .62). CONCLUSIONS: Positive AMERK baseline levels were correlated with younger age at MCC diagnosis and nonhead and neck tumor location, possibly related to the distribution of viral etiology. A specific post-RT AMERK decline correlating with EFS could not be identified.","journal":"Cancer","year":2024,"id":477290,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":2,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9595,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2024-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":965644,"name":"Kee‐Young Shin","orcid":"0000-0002-3451-8516","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":270584,"name":"Manisha Thakuria","orcid":"0000-0002-9024-9090","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":16764,"name":"Jonathan D. Schoenfeld","orcid":"0000-0002-5119-0401","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":607071,"name":"Roy B. Tishler","orcid":"0000-0002-0012-6055","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":425697,"name":"Ann W. Silk","orcid":"0000-0003-3877-3984","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":5606,"name":"Charles H. Yoon","orcid":"0000-0003-1231-3840","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1315069,"name":"E. Fité","orcid":"0009-0000-9396-3110","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":495298,"name":"Danielle N. Margalit","orcid":"0000-0002-8281-0829","position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":257989,"name":"Kevin X. Liu","orcid":"0000-0003-2071-5137","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":26,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:06:33.741984Z","pmid":"39101686","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}