Merkel cell carcinoma - null regimens

The purpose of this page is to provide references to "null therapy" such as placebo and observation. These references provide further insight into the historical development of the treatment landscape. See the main MCC page for regimens that include active anticancer treatment.

Adjuvant therapy

Observation

Regimen

Study	Dates of enrollment	Evidence	Comparator	Comparative Efficacy
Becker et al. 2023 (ADMEC-O)	2014-10-01 to 2020-08-31	Randomized Phase 2 (C)	Nivolumab	Might have inferior DFS12 (co-primary endpoint)

No systemic treatment after surgery.

Preceding treatment

• Surgery

References

1. ADMEC-O: Becker JC, Ugurel S, Leiter U, Meier F, Gutzmer R, Haferkamp S, Zimmer L, Livingstone E, Eigentler TK, Hauschild A, Kiecker F, Hassel JC, Mohr P, Fluck M, Thomas I, Garzarolli M, Grimmelmann I, Drexler K, Spillner AN, Eckhardt S, Schadendorf D; DeCOG. Adjuvant immunotherapy with nivolumab versus observation in completely resected Merkel cell carcinoma (ADMEC-O): disease-free survival results from a randomised, open-label, phase 2 trial. Lancet. 2023 Sep 2;402(10404):798-808. Epub 2023 Jul 11. Erratum in: Lancet. 2023 Oct 21;402(10411):1422. link to original article PubMed NCT02196961