Trends in the incidence and morbidity of Merkel cell carcinoma in Brazil.

The current study aims to present epidemiologic changes and clinical aspects of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) in Brazil. Data were collected from the Brazilian Population-Based Cancer Registries (2000-2015) and Hospital-Based Cancer Registries (2000-2017). The average age-standardized incidence rates significantly increased in men between the years 2000 (0.31/1,000,000) and 2015 (1.21/1,000,000), with an annual percentage change of 9.4 (95% CI: 4.7-14.4; p < 0.001). In women, the incidence rates rose insignificantly in the period with an annual percentage change of 3.1 (95% CI: 0.0-6.2; p < 0.10). From the hospital-based database, 881 MCC patients were identified. Most of the patients were females (51.2%), aged >60 years (82.2%), White (67.6%) and diagnosed at stages III or IV (50.5%). A key aspect of public health promotion is to understand the incidence and morbidity of MCC.