A case of long-term survival following hepatectomy for liver metastasis of Merkel cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare endocrine tumor that presents as a rapidly growing skin nodule of the body, and it is aggressive with regional nodal and distant metastases without clearly defined treatment. There are no reports of long survivors among patients with liver metastasis of MCC. The current case was a patient who underwent surgical resection for liver metastasis of Merkel cell carcinoma. CASE PRESENTATION: This case describes a 73-year-old female with a papule on the dorsal side of the right third finger and liver tumor. The papule of the right third finger was histologically diagnosed as MCC by the skin biopsy. She underwent extensive resection and lymph node dissection of the right third finger and partial resection of the liver. The liver tumor was histologically diagnosed as liver metastasis of MCC. The patient remains well without any evidence of tumor recurrence more than 5 years after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of a long-term survival of more than 5 years following liver metastasis of MCC, which was surgically resected. Patients with small and solitary metastatic liver tumor of MCC may have a chance for a long-term survival following the hepatic resection.