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Start free with EleplanCutaneous neuroendocrine carcinoma
ORPHA:79140Disease
Also called MCC · Merkel cell carcinoma
What it is
A rare aggressive skin cancer characterized by a rapidly growing nodule with both epithelial and neuroendocrine features, driven in 80% of cases by the oncogenic Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV).
Key facts
- Prevalence
- 1-9 / 100 000 (Europe)
- Age of onset
- Adult, Elderly
- Inheritance
- Not applicable
- Classified as
- Disease
Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.
Signs and symptoms
Common30–79%
7Sometimes5–29%
5These ranges are how often a sign appears across everyone diagnosed, not a prediction for one person — most people have some of these and not others. Orphanet also records findings that are specifically absent in this disease; those are in the data but not listed here.
ICD-10 codes
ICD-10 has no distinct code for most rare diseases, so many are filed under the nearest available one. A shared code identifies the group, not this disease — the ORPHAcode above is what identifies it.
Related health topics
Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.
Cross-references
Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Data version 2026-06-23. Available under CC BY 4.0. This is a reference, not medical advice.
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