Effect of Patient Immune Status on the Efficacy of Radiation Therapy and Recurrence-Free Survival Among 805 Patients With Merkel Cell Carcinoma

Radiation therapy efficacy at current standard RT doses for MCC is impaired among immunosuppressed patients with MCC. Although a strong link between durability of RT response and immune function does not appear to be evident in most cancers, our results may reflect an especially dynamic interaction between immune status and RT efficacy in MCC.