Volume 15, Number 6—June 2009
Dispatch
Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Strains in Patients with Merkel Cell Carcinoma
Antoine Touzé, Julien Gaitan, Annabel Maruani, Emmanuelle Le Bidre, Angélique Doussinaud, Christine Clavel, Anne Durlach, François Aubin, Serge Guyétant, Gérard Lorette, and Pierre Coursaget
Table
Detection of Merkel cell polyomavirus by PCR in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma using primers sets within LT and VP gene sequences, France, 2008*
| Sample | No. patients | LT1, no. (%) | VP1, no. (%) | Total, no. (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merkel cell carcinoma | ||||
| Paraffin-embedded | 20 | 6 (30) | 6 (30) | 9 (45) |
| Frozen tissue |
12 |
10 (83) |
12 (100) |
12 (100) |
| Other neuroendocrine carcinomas | ||||
| Paraffin-embedded | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frozen tissue | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
*Non–Merkel cell carcinoma high-grade neuroendocrine carcinomas were 5 small-cell lung carcinomas, 3 well-differentiated intestinal carcinomas, and 1 high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix.
