Noncancerous, Precancerous and Cancerous Tumors

Merkel cell carcinoma is an uncommon but very dangerous type of skin cancer. It occurs most often in fair-skinned individuals over the age of 50. Merkel cell carcinomas look like red, blue, or flesh-colored lumps that appear on sun-exposed areas of the skin. What makes this cancer dangerous is that it grows very quickly and can spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body, even when it is very small. Merkel cell carcinoma can spread to regional lymph nodes as well as distant sites in the body. Like melanoma, the prognosis for Merkel cell carcinoma that has spread is poor.