SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA
Squamous cell carcinoma is a malignant tumor with local destruction of the skin. This skin cancer type often metastasize mostly lymphogen in surrounding lymph nodes. Metastases are resettlements of the tumor in distant tissue and occur in five percent of the patients. The squamous cell carcinoma is the second common skin tumor and shows a fast increase of the incidences among the white population. These tumors appear in 90 percent in the facial area. The average age is 70 years. Males are more often affected than females.
The most important risk factor for the appearance of sqamous cell carcinoma are actinic keratoses and Morbus Bowen, the prototype of squamous cell carcinoma. Further risk factors are higher age, overexposure to the sun and light skin type. Other factors are chronic wounds and inflammations like ulcera crurum, burn, scars, lichinoid diseases and bullous dermatosis. The incidence of squamous cell carcinoma is elevated and the development of the tumor is disadvantageous in immunosuppressed patients with organ transplants, patients with tumor diseases as well as HIV infection.
Detection of Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Squamous cell carcinoma is mostly recognized as a skin lesion with a crust or an ulceration, especially in sun exposed skin areas. They grow with infiltration or destruction of the skin. The diagnosis is mostly clinical and realized through the treating doctor with a visual diagnosis. A histological biopsy is necessary in dependence to the size of the tumor and the therapeutical approach.
In addition to the clinical analysis, an analysis of the lymphstrom area via ultrasound diagnostic at tumor size greater than 0.08 inches is necessary. If there is infiltration and destruction crowing from the tumor, a further analysis via computerthomography and magnetic resonance imaging is necessary. If there is any suspicion of distant metastases, more diagnostics are necessary such as x-ray thorax, computer tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.