Merkel cell carcinoma
Oncology · 2018–2026
Every decision
| Medicine | Meeting | Outcome | Consumer input |
|---|---|---|---|
| retifanlimab Treatment of metastatic or recurrent, locally advanced Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) not amenable to curative surgery or radiation. | Mar 2026 | Deferred | 4 individuals Rare Cancers Australia · NeuroEndocrine Cancer Australia · Medical Oncology Group |
| retifanlimab Treatment of metastatic or recurrent, locally advanced Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) not amenable to curative surgery or radiation. | Nov 2025 | Deferred | 4 individuals Rare Cancers Australia · NeuroEndocrine Cancer Australia · Medical Oncology Group |
| avelumab Treatment of stage IV (metastatic) Merkel cell carcinoma (mMCC) in patients that have progressed following chemotherapy or who have… | Jul 2018 | Recommended with restriction | 3 individuals Rare Cancers Australia · Unicorn Foundation · Medical Oncology Group |
Who spoke
Rare Cancers Australia · Medical Oncology Group · NeuroEndocrine Cancer Australia · Unicorn Foundation
What the PBS pays
$72M in government benefit over 2024–25, across 12,301 services.
This is spend on the medicines considered for this condition, not spend on the disease. A medicine used for several conditions is counted in full under each, so figures across conditions add to more than national PBS expenditure.
| Medicine | Government benefit |
|---|---|
| avelumab | $71.8M |
Appraised elsewhere
NICE, in England and Wales, has appraised 2 technologies for this condition, recommending 2 . A different committee, a different population and a different price: this is what has been looked at there, not a verdict on what happened here.
Conditions are classified by a language model from the indication text of each submission, so an individual label here can be wrong. Consumer input is read from the document's own consumer comments section: 3 of 3 decisions since 2014 carried some. Silence means no comment reached the committee through that facility, not that nobody was affected. More on how this was built.