Treatment of Stage III Merkel Cell Carcinoma

For information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section.

Treatment of stage III Merkel cell carcinoma may include the following:

• Wide local excision with or without lymph node dissection.
• Radiation therapy.
• Immunotherapy (immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy using pembrolizumab), for tumors that cannot be removed by surgery.
• A clinical trial of chemotherapy.
• A clinical trial of immunotherapy (nivolumab).

Use our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.