A recent meta-analysis indicated that avelumab monotherapy and combination therapy shown improvement in overall response and survival rates in patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinomas (MCC).

The study, published in Dermatologic Surgery, surveyed results from 48 studies involving 1,565 patients with stage III or IV MCC, predominantly male (67.3%) with stage IV disease (97.0%). Primary outcomes of interest included overall response rate, overall survival (OS).

According to the analysis, the overall response rate was 46.1%, with partial and complete responses observed in 25.4% and 20.7% of cases, respectively, during a mean follow-up of 9.5 months. Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed OS rates of 58% at 1 year, 47% at 2 years, and 28% at 5 years post-avelumab treatment completion, with a median OS of 23.1 months.

Reported common treatment-related adverse events included constitutional (44%), gastrointestinal (19%), and dermatologic (12%) symptoms. 

Source: Sharma A, et al. Dermatologic Surgery. 2024. Doi: 10.1097/DSS.0000000000004107