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.
What are the most common places for squamous cell carcinoma to occur? Skin: This is by far the most common location. We see more of these every year than all of the others combined. Head and neck: Squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck include cancers of the mouth, throat and voice box.
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.
Where does squamous cell skin cancer develop? It tends to develop on skin that's had lots of sun exposure like the face, hands, or lips. This skin cancer may also develop in areas that get little or no sun like the mouth, genitals, or anus.
The cervical lymph nodes are the most common metastatic sites for SCCs of unknown primary site. Patients with tumor involving the upper or mid-level cervical nodes are likely to have a primary cancer of the head and neck.
The sun-exposed head and neck are the most frequent sites for these cancers to arise and in most patients diagnosed with a cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, local treatment is usually curative.
Examples of High-Risk Features
A high-risk squamous cell skin cancer on the ear (in the mask region). A high-risk squamous cell skin cancer on the lower lip (in the mask region). Tumors are more common on the lower lip than the upper lip because of increased sun exposure.
But what happens when an SCC does spread? Dr. Hanke: The first place SCCs metastasize to is the regional lymph nodes. So if you have a squamous cell carcinoma on your cheek, for example, it would metastasize to the nodes in the neck.
UV damage to your skin caused by the sun or tanning beds.
This is the most common contributing factor. Indoor tanning can increase your risk of developing squamous cell skin cancer by 58%1.
Most (95% to 98%) of squamous cell carcinomas can be cured if they are treated early. Once squamous cell carcinoma has spread beyond the skin, though, less than half of people live five years, even with aggressive treatment.
They are of concern because of the similarity to squamous cell cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma is one of the three most common types of skin cancer. Basal cell, squamous cell, and melanoma. Squamous cell cancers can metastasize (spread) and should be removed surgically as soon as they are diagnosed.
Metastasis of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is rare. However, certain tumor and patient characteristics increase the risk of metastasis. Prior studies have demonstrated metastasis rates of 3-9%, occurring, on average, one to two years after initial diagnosis [6].
Flat cell that looks like a fish scale under a microscope. These cells are found in the tissues that form the surface of the skin, the passages of the respiratory and digestive tracts, and the lining of the hollow organs of the body (such as the bladder, kidney, and uterus, including the cervix).
Systemic chemotherapy is not widely used for treating squamous cell carcinoma. In most cases, the cancer cells are confined to one area of skin and, if detected early, can be effectively addressed with localized treatments, such as surgery.
Squamous cell carcinoma stages
These features include: Greater than 2 mm in thickness. Invasion into the lower dermis or subcutis layers of the skin. Invasion into the tiny nerves in the skin.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma Early Stages
At first, cancer cells appear as flat patches in the skin, often with a rough, scaly, reddish, or brown surface. These abnormal cells slowly grow in sun-exposed areas.
Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin is usually not life-threatening, though it can be aggressive. Untreated, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin can grow large or spread to other parts of your body, causing serious complications.
Blood test
Squamous cell carcinoma blood tests typically include a complete blood count (CBC), which looks at the number of red and white blood cells and platelets. Abnormal numbers can be indicative of a problem.
In general, the squamous cell carcinoma survival rate is very high—when detected early, the five-year survival rate is 99 percent. Even if squamous cell carcinoma has spread to nearby lymph nodes, the cancer may be effectively treated through a combination of surgery and radiation treatment.
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.
Yes, squamous cell carcinoma can make you feel tired. It can make a person feel weak and exhausted. During the treatment procedures of squamous cell carcinoma, the patient tends to feel more tired. These types of fatigue that are related to cancer are known as cancer-related fatigue (CRF).
Oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC and OPSCC) represent the majority of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Human papillomavirus (HPV) is an important etiologic factor together with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).
“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). Features of high-risk SCC are: Larger than 2 centimeters (cm) Deeper than 2 millimeters (mm)
Squamous cell carcinoma rarely metastasizes (spreads to other areas of the body), and when spreading does occur, it typically happens slowly. Indeed, most squamous cell carcinoma cases are diagnosed before the cancer has progressed beyond the upper layer of skin.