|
Page 2 of 2
Edmonton's Cosmetic Surgery Clinic
What causes Squamous Cell Carcinomas?
There are several well known reasons why SCC forms:
- Excessive exposure to Ultraviolet radiation from the sun and other artificial sources - This is why skin cancers develop most often on the face and the arms (sun-exposed body parts). Squamous cell carcinoma is most commonly seen in fair skinned individuals who are unable to tan and is associated with an accumulated lifetime exposure to sun. PUVA (Psoralen and Ultraviolet A radiation), which is used mostly for psoriasis, has an increased risk of squamous cell carcinomas.
- Radiation treatments - when patients are treated with radiation (for skin cancers or for other reasons), it can cause development of further skin cancers in the distant future (20 or more years later).
- Chemicals - it is well known that exposure to arsenic (sometimes found in contaminated water) can cause the development of skin cancer many decades later.
- Cigarette smoking increases the risks of squamous cell carcinoma by a factor of two.
- Human Papilloma Viruses (warts) are associated with squamous cell carcinoma in the genital area as well as around the nails.
- Genetic problems - some patients have rare genetic syndromes that greatly predispose them to the development of skin cancers. Some of these syndromes include: Xeroderma Pigmentosum or Gorlin's Syndrome.
- Prior injury - patients who had injury in the distant past, such as burns or non-healing ulcers, have an increased risk of developing skin cancers.
- Immunosuppression - patients who are immunosuppressed such as those following organ transplant or some cancers of the blood or bone marrow have their immunity reduced allowing some of the skin cancers to grow.
How can Squamous Cell Carcinomas be treated?
The treatment of squamous cell carcinomas depends on many factors including the type of SCC, its location and size, general health of the patient as well as the observation regarding its borders (when the borders of the cancer are not easily determined more sophisticated methods need to be used).
The following list represents some of the available treatments for squamous cell carcinomas:
- Mohs Micrographic Surgery (the most successful method)
- Surgical excision - surgical removal and stitching
- Curettage and electrodesiccation (scraping and burning with an electric needle)
- Radiation therapy ("deep X-ray")
The method chosen depends upon several factors, such as the microscopic type of tumor, the location and size of the cancer, and previous therapy. For example, small squamous cell carcinomas on the legs, arms, back, chest or abdomen can be treated with curettage and electrodesiccation (scraping and burning with an electric needle), surgical excision or radiation therapy. Sometimes these methods can be combined increasing the chances of the cure rate.
The success rate for Mohs surgery , even in treating recurrent lesions, is about 95 - 99%. Mohs surgery is very time consuming and requires a highly trained team of medical personnel.
Since Mohs Micrographic surgery is the most successful and most tissue spearing (it strives to preserve as much of the normal tissue as possible and yet remove the cancer successfully), it is intended for skin cancers on the head and neck areas, the cancers that have poorly defined edges, recurrent cancers, cancers in patients with decreased immune system (such as patients with kidney, liver or heart transplants) and cancers in areas of the body when preservation of the normal tissues is important (such as hands and feet).
Youthful Image
|
