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| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
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| Year : 2018 | Volume
: 6
| Issue : 2 | Page : 303 |
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Cytological, histopathological, and immunohistochemical features of merkel cell carcinoma: A case report
Mahmood Dhahir Al-Mendalawi
Department of Paediatrics, Al-Kindy College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
| Date of Web Publication | 27-Dec-2018 |
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Mahmood Dhahir Al-Mendalawi
P. O. Box: 55302, Baghdad Post Office, Baghdad
Iraq
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/amhs.amhs_76_18
How to cite this article:
Al-Mendalawi MD. Cytological, histopathological, and immunohistochemical features of merkel cell carcinoma: A case report. Arch Med Health Sci 2018;6:303 |
How to cite this URL:
Al-Mendalawi MD. Cytological, histopathological, and immunohistochemical features of merkel cell carcinoma: A case report. Arch Med Health Sci [serial online] 2018 [cited 2023 Mar 23];6:303. Available from: https://www.amhsjournal.org/text.asp?2018/6/2/303/248670 |
Sir,
I spent good time reading the interesting case report by Chauhan et al. on cutaneous Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) in an Indian patient.[1] The authors nicely described the clinical picture, cytological, histopathological, and immunohistochemical features, and treatment plan in the studied patient. I presume that the rarity and potentially aggressive nature of that primary tumor should alert the authors to consider defective immune status in the studied patient. Among defective immune status, infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is paramount. My presumption is based on the following point. It is undebatable that patients infected with HIV are more susceptible to various tumors compared with immunocompetent counterparts. The increased susceptibility has been attributed to different factors, including immunosuppression, coinfection with oncogenic viruses, and life prolongation secondary to the use of antiretroviral therapy.[2] Among tumors, MCC has been reported in HIV-positive patients.[3] To my knowledge, HIV infection is a distressing health hazard in India. Although no recent data are yet present on the HIV seroprevalence in India, the available data pointed out to 0.26% HIV seroprevalence compared with a global average of 0.2%.[4] Hence, planning for the diagnostic set of CD4 lymphocyte count and viral overload estimations was envisaged in the studied patient. If that diagnostic set was achieved and it disclosed HIV infection, the case in question could be truly considered a novel case report of HIV-associated MCC in India, on the one hand, and it would definitely widen the spectrum of HIV-associated tumors already reported in Indian literature, on the other hand.[5]
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Chauhan P, Gupta N, Mardi K, Sharma SK, Negi A. Cytological, histopathological and immunohistochemical features of Merkel cell carcinoma: A case report. Arch Med Health Sci 2018;6:122-5.  [Full text] |
| 2. | Valencia Ortega ME. Malignancies and infection due to the human immunodeficiency virus. Are these emerging diseases? Rev Clin Esp 2018;218:149-55. |
| 3. | Góes HF, Lima CD, Issa MC, Luz FB, Pantaleão L, Paixão JG, et al. Merkel cell carcinoma in an immunosuppressed patient. An Bras Dermatol 2017;92:386-8. |
| 4. | Paranjape RS, Challacombe SJ. HIV/AIDS in India: An overview of the Indian epidemic. Oral Dis 2016;22 Suppl 1:10-4. |
| 5. | Sachdeva RK, Sharma A, Singh S, Varma S. Spectrum of AIDS defining & non-AIDS defining malignancies in North India. Indian J Med Res 2016;143:S129-35. |
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