Acne affects approximately 9% of people worldwide and is the most common skin condition in the USA. There are abundant topical and oral treatment options available for patients with acne. First-line agents include topical retinoids, azelaic acid, benzoyl peroxide, and combinations of these agents. For recalcitrant or more severe acne, oral medications, including oral antibiotics, isotretinoin, or hormonal therapy, may be considered. This review will also discuss the many advances being made in the treatment of acne vulgaris, from the development of microencapsulated medications to targeted treatments.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive neuroendocrine skin cancer that predominantly impacts White patients. Overall incidence and the proportion of minority patients with MCC are both rising. In the more common skin cancer, melanoma, racial disparities are well-documented in stage at presentation and patient survival. Whether racial and ethnic disparities exist in MCC remains unclear. The study of MCC disparities is hampered by limitations in data registries, including SEER and NCDB, and an evolving natural history due to the advent of immunotherapy. Published MCC immunotherapy clinical trials consistently reported the racial diversity among enrolled subjects but failed to include patients’ ethnicities. Efforts to improve data capture in cancer registries and create multi-institutional clinical databases will allow for more effective study of racial and ethnic disparities in rare cancers like MCC. Such studies are needed to advance policies promoting equity in care.

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ImportanceRacial and ethnic differences in skin cancer outcomes are understudied. Delineating these differences in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is needed to better understand this rare disease.ObjectiveTo determine how MCC presentation and outcomes differ across racial and ethnic groups.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis retrospective cohort study included patients diagnosed with MCC and followed up from 2000 through 2018 in the 18 population-based cancer registries of the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. Patients without follow-up data were excluded. Data analysis occurred from March 12 to November 30, 2022.Main Outcomes and MeasuresA Cox proportional hazards regression was conducted to determine associations between demographic variables (race and ethnicity, age, sex, and income) and clinical variables (stage at diagnosis, primary site, and diagnosis year) with MCC-specific survival.ResultsOf the 9557 patients with MCC identified (6758 [70.7%] aged ≥70 years; 6008 [62.9%] male), 222 (2.3%) were Asian American or Pacific Islander, 146 (1.5%) Black, 541 (5.7%) Hispanic, and 8590 (89.9%) White. Hispanic patients had improved MCC-specific survival compared with White patients (hazard ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.67-0.99; P = .04). Black patients had the lowest MCC-specific survival, but it was not statistically different from White patients (hazard ratio, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.86-1.60; P = .28). Hispanic and Black patients were less likely to present with a primary site of the head and neck than White patients (183 of 541 [33.8%] Hispanic patients and 45 of 146 [30.8%] Black patients vs 3736 of 8590 [43.5%] White patients; P < .001 and P = .002, respectively). Black patients presented more often than White patients with advanced disease at diagnosis (59 of 146 [40.4%] vs 2510 of 8590 [29.2%]; P = .004).Conclusions and RelevanceIn this cohort study, there were differences between racial and ethnic groups in observed MCC outcomes and disease characteristics. Further investigations are warranted into the findings that, compared with White patients, Hispanic patients with MCC had improved outcomes and Black patients did not have worse outcomes despite presenting with more advanced disease.