6 characteristics of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin

Skin squamous cell carcinoma is referred to as squamous cell carcinoma. It is common in the face of the elderly and has the following six characteristics:

1. Characteristics of disease

Skin squamous cell carcinoma often occurs in skin damaged by ultraviolet rays or is secondary to lesions of skin diseases such as solar keratosis, chronic ulcers, psoriasis, discoid lupus erythematosus, etc., and is prone to occur on the head, neck, limbs and trunk.

2. Characteristics of skin lesions

The skin lesions are red nodules of skin with ulcers in the center, wide, hard and raised edges, a red base covered with scabs, an uneven ulcer surface that bleeds easily, and sometimes papillary or cauliflower-like hyperplasia on the surface of the lesions.

3. Histopathology

Tumor masses composed of squamous epithelial cells can be seen in the dermis. There are normal squamous cells and atypical squamous cells in the masses. The more the latter, the more malignant the tumor is.

4. Squamous cell carcinoma grading

The grading of squamous cell carcinoma is mainly determined by the ratio of atypical squamous cells to differentiated squamous cells and the depth of invasion of tumor tissue, and is divided into grades I, II, III, and IV. Grade I refers to atypical cells accounting for less than 25%, grade II refers to 25% to 50%, grade III refers to 50% to 75%, and grade IV refers to more than 75%.

5. Diffusion and transfer

Generally, squamous cell carcinomas of grade Ⅰ to Ⅱ are not easy to metastasize, but grade Ⅲ to Ⅳ can metastasize. Metastasis rule: When squamous cell carcinoma develops rapidly, it will infiltrate deeply into muscles and bones, and then cause regional lymph node metastasis.

6. Precancerous manifestations

Any chronic ulcer that does not heal for a long time or develops hard nodules, plaques, or tumors with rapidly growing edges, easy bleeding, and pain should be treated with caution as it can easily progress to squamous cell carcinoma of the skin.