Abstract
A 43-year-old woman was referred to our university hospital with a reddish tumor which measured 2×3 cm on her left elbow. The tumor has grown rapidly during the last month. Incisional biopsy revealed Merkel cell carcinoma. FDG-PET showed no other lesions outside of the primary site, and MRI disclosed invasion into subcutaneous tissue. Wide excision was performed on the left elbow, including the deep fascia, with a 2-cm margin from the tumor. Sentinel lymph node biopsy in the left axillary region showed negative for metastasis. Postoperative staging was T2N0M0 Stage IIA. As postoperative adjuvant therapy, a total of 48.4 Gy radiotherapy was administered from the left elbow to the axillar region, and synchronous carboplatin and etoposide were given in weeks 1, 4, 7, and 10. There has been neither local recurrence nor distant metastasis for 2 years and 8 months after surgery.[Skin Cancer (Japan) 2012 ; 27 : 83-87]
