Fans of singer Jimmy Buffett were stunned last September by his sudden death. It was later revealed Buffett had actually been suffering for four years from a rare but aggressive form of skin cancer: Merkel cell carcinoma.
Merkel cell carcinoma, which strikes just 3,000 people a year, is a lethal skin cancer connected to the neuroendocrine system through nerve endings in the skin. It frequently spreads into the lymph nodes, then the lungs and brain.
“If we see one a month, we would say that would be highly unlikely,” said Dr. Vishal Anil Patel, associate professor of Dermatology & Medical Oncology at George Washington University.
But when the diagnosis is Merkel cell, George Washington University’s surgical team takes immediate action.
“We know that Merkel cell tends to be more aggressive and we want to make sure we get everything out so that it can’t spread elsewhere,” Patel said.
Merkel cell carcinoma can be caused by age or a weakened immune system but is often triggered by sun exposure.
“As patients get older, and we have a lot more of a sun-worshipping culture, had those years of sun worshipping, and Jimmy Buffett was certainly a sun worshipper, that puts you at higher risk, potentially, for that,” Patel said.
If caught early, the five-year survival rate is 75%, but if it spreads, that plunges to 24%. White males are most often stricken, and it tends to return.
“What’s unusual is that patients can be treated for their Merkel cell and be doing OK, and then, a few years later, find out that it had spread to multiple different sites, and they just didn’t know,” Patel said.
Patel reminds people that if you see a spot that you’re concerned about, go ahead and get it checked by a dermatologist.