Of these anatomic sites, there are four which make up the majority of SCC cases: non-melanoma skin cancer, head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer.
Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin most often occurs on sun-exposed skin, such as your scalp, the backs of your hands, your ears or your lips. But it can occur anywhere on your body, including inside your mouth, the bottoms of your feet and on your genitals.
High-Risk Features of the Primary Tumor
On sensitive/mucosal locations (such as the genitals) as well as areas that tend to have lots of sun exposure, such as the central face, eyelids, eyebrows, on or around the nose, lips, chin, jaw, temple, and ear (the mask area), hands, and feet.
Cancers of 10 different body sites account for more than 75% of this total cancer incidence. The four most common cancers, accounting for more than half of all cancer cases, are those of the breast, prostate, lung, and colon/rectum.
Squamous cells are thin, flat cells that look like fish scales, and are found in the tissue that forms the surface of the skin, the lining of the hollow organs of the body, and the lining of the respiratory and digestive tracts.
Simple squamous epithelia are found lining the cavities of the body including the pericardial, pleural, and peritoneal cavities, or in areas where passive diffusion occurs, such as glomeruli in the kidney and alveoli in the respiratory tract.
Squamous cell lung tumors often occur in the central part of the lung or the main airway, such as the left or right bronchus. The main causative agent of cellular transformation is tobacco smoke.
What are the most common sites of metastatic cancer? The most common sites for cancers to metastasize include the lungs, liver, bones and brain. Other places include the adrenal gland, lymph nodes, skin and other organs. Sometimes, a metastasis will be found without a known primary cancer (point of origin).
It's built around 4 objectives – to discover, detect, prevent, and treat – so that progress in understanding the fundamental biology of cancer leads to new prevention measures, tests and treatments.
These cancers are most often found in areas exposed to the sun, such as the head, neck, and arms, but they also can occur elsewhere. They are very common but are also usually very treatable.
What is aggressive squamous cell carcinoma? “Aggressive SCC” or “high-risk SCC” is cancer that is more likely to recur (return after initial treatment) or metastasize (spread to other parts of the body).
Patients with stage I, II, or III cancer have the best survival, whereas patients with stage IV or recurrent cancer who are older than 66.5 years have the worst survival. Patients with stage IV or recurrent cancer who are younger than 66.5 years have intermediate survival.
Metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary is a disease in which squamous cell cancer spreads to lymph nodes in the neck and it is not known where the cancer first formed in the body. Signs and symptoms of metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary include a lump or pain in the neck or throat.
Treatment should happen as soon as possible after diagnosis, since more advanced SCCs of the skin are more difficult to treat and can become dangerous, spreading to local lymph nodes, distant tissues and organs.
Cancer treatment has conventionally been built on three therapies, nicknamed the “three pillars of cancer treatment.” These are surgical therapy, radiotherapy, and drug therapy.
Age, weight, exposure to carcinogens, and genetics can increase the risk of developing cancer. Learn more from this Did You Know? video produced by NCI's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program.
Often, the first stop is the lymph nodes. And, as it advances, metastases can occur in distant parts of the body, some of the most common ones being the bones, lungs, liver, and brain.
moving through the walls of nearby lymph nodes or blood vessels. traveling through the lymphatic system and bloodstream to other parts of the body. stopping in small blood vessels at a distant location, invading the blood vessel walls, and moving into the surrounding tissue.
Lymph nodes are one of the most common places for cancer to spread. The liver, lungs, and bones are also common sites of metastasis. Certain types of cancer are more likely to spread to certain organs.
The prognosis of patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell cancer is generally poor. The median survival in most series is 6 to 15 months depending on patient- and disease-related factors. Symptom-directed care plays an important role in the management of these patients.
SCC is generally a slow growing tumor that tends to grow without physical symptoms. However, some forms of this cancer may be fast growing and painful, especially when the lesions are large. They may become irritated and bleed.