Merkel cell carcinoma: need for information and awareness. A case series of 47 patients from an Italian website

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive neuroendocrine tumor of the skin. The clinical experience with this tumor is generally limited. A sample of 47 cases of our series was collected from the website www.neuroendocrini.it. The data on these patients offer some insight into the difficulty of managing MCC as a result of inappropriate therapeutic approaches and neglect of exisiting recommendations, which may lead to poor survival associated with a very low quality of life. We have observed that networks can be useful for information sharing so that the needs of the patient can be met.