Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Squamous cell carcinoma
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer. SCC
is a fairly slow-growing skin cancer. Unlike other types of skin cancer, it can spread to
the tissues, bones, and nearby lymph nodes, where it may become hard to treat.
When caught early, it’s easy to treat.
Certain things make you more likely to develop SCC:
 Older age
 Male
 Fair-skinned
 Blue, green, or gray eyes
 Blonde or red hair
 Spend time outside; exposed to the sun's UV Rays
 Tanning beds and bulbs
 Long-term exposure to chemicals such as arsenic in the water
 Bowen’s disease, HPV, HIV, or AIDS
 Exposed to radiation
Clinical features
site: It’s usually found on areas of the body damaged by UV rays from the sun or
tanning beds. Sun-exposed skin includes the head, neck, ears, lips, arms, legs, and
hands.
Appearance: SCC usually begins as a dome-shaped bump or a red, scaly patch of

skin. It’s usually rough and crusty, and can bleed easily when scraped. Large growths
may itch or hurt. It may also pop through scars or chronic skin sores, so check for any
changes and report them to your doctor.
Histopathology:
Typical SCC has nests of squamous epithelial cells arising from the epidermis and
extending into the dermis.The malignant cells are often large with
abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm and a large, often vesicular, nucleus.
Variable keratinisation (keratin pearls etc) is present
Treatment
Surgery
Different types of surgery can be used to treat squamous cell skin cancers.
Excision: Cutting out the tumor, along with a small margin of normal skin, is often
used to treat squamous cell cancers.
Curettage and electrodesiccation: This approach is sometimes useful in treating

small (less than 1 cm across), thin squamous cell cancers, but it’s not recommended
for larger tumors.
Mohs surgery: Mohs surgery has the highest cure rate. It’s especially useful for
squamous cell cancers larger than 2 cm (about 4/5 inch) across or with poorly
defined edges, for cancers that have come back after other treatments, for cancers
that are spreading along nerves under the skin, and for cancers on certain areas of
the face or genital area. This approach is typically more complex and time-
consuming than other types of surgery.
SCC is graded as:
 Well differentiated
 Moderately differentiated
 Poorly differentiated
Grading of SCC depends on how easy it is to recognise the characteristics

of squamous epithelium (eg. intracellular bridges, keratinisation), pleomorphism and
mitotic activity. There is considerable inter-observer variation in grading SCC.
https://www.webmd.com/melanoma-skin-cancer/guide/squamous-cell-
carcinoma#1
https://www.dermnetnz.org/topics/squamous-cell-carcinoma-pathology/
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/basal-and-squamous-cell-skin-
cancer/treating/squamousl-cell-carcinoma.html
squamous cell papilloma
Squamous cell papilloma may be defined as a small benign (non-cancerous) growth

that begins in squamous cells (thin, flat cells) that are found in the tissue that forms
the surface of the skin (epidermis), the passages of the respiratory and digestive
tract and in the lining of hollow organs of the body.
etiology
Squamous cell papilloma is caused by infection with the human papillomavirus

(HPV). Clinical features
Appearance: A single lesion is most common and appears as a

soft, pedunculated mass (supported on a stem or stalk) with numerous finger-like
projections. The projections may be long and pointy or short and rounded
if keratin (skin-forming protein) has built-up round the lesion. Less keratinised
lesions are pink or red in colour and resemble a raspberry, whilst heavily keratinised
lesions are white and look like the head of a cauliflower.
Site: When the papillomas are found on the skin they are more commonly referred
to as warts or verrucas. And papillomas occurring on the genital tract are known
as genital warts. Squamous cell papillomas may also occur on many other parts of
the body. Areas where squamous cell papilloma have been investigated as a disease
entity on their own include the mouth and throat, oesophagus (digestive tract),
respiratory tract and conjunctiva (membrane that covers the eye).
Histopathology
Tumor cells proliferate and produce finger-like or warty projections; secondary, the
subjacent vessels and connective tissue (fibrovascular core) grows to sustain and
feed the tumor. The tumor cells resemble normal squamous cells, but there is an
increase of the layers number: acanthosis, hypergranulosis and hyperkeratosis. The
basement membrane is intact.
Treatment
Surgical excision
https://www.dermnetnz.org/topics/squamous-cell-papilloma/
http://www.pathologyatlas.ro/squamous-cell-papilloma-skin.php

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Squamous Cell Carcinoma

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Squamous cell carcinoma

Certain things make you more likely to develop SCC:

 Blue, green, or gray eyes

 Blonde or red hair

 Spend time outside; exposed to the sun's UV Rays

 Tanning beds and bulbs

 Long-term exposure to chemicals such as arsenic in the water

 Bowen’s disease, HPV, HIV, or AIDS

Appearance: SCC usually begins as a dome-shaped bump or a red, scaly patch of

Curettage and electrodesiccation: This approach is sometimes useful in treating

SCC is graded as:

Grading of SCC depends on how easy it is to recognise the characteristics

Squamous cell papilloma may be defined as a small benign (non-cancerous) growth

Squamous cell papilloma is caused by infection with the human papillomavirus

Appearance: A single lesion is most common and appears as a

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