Yes, some early, superficial squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) can be cured without surgery using non-surgical treatments like topical creams, photodynamic therapy, cryotherapy, or radiation, especially if surgery is not ideal due to location or patient health, though surgery remains the most common and effective for deeper cancers. These alternatives offer good cosmetic results but are chosen based on cancer size, depth, location, and risk, with a doctor's assessment being crucial.
It's important not to delay treatment for too long, since this can make the cancer more difficult to cure. Waiting to treat squamous cell skin cancer also increases the risk of hurting your appearance and leading to difficulties with using that part of the body normally if a lot of surgery or other treatment is needed.
Squamous cell carcinoma signs and symptoms can vary but may include:
General symptoms of advanced melanoma
The symptoms of advanced cancer depend on where the cancer is in your body. But general symptoms might include: hard or swollen lymph nodes.
The most common ways to treat throat cancer include:
Squamous cell carcinoma of the throat is a serious condition. In some cases, it can affect a person's ability to talk, eat, and breathe. It can also become life threatening. However, receiving an accurate diagnosis and starting treatment as early as possible may help improve the outcome.
Treatment overview
In July 2021, the FDA expanded this approval to include SCC that is locally advanced and not curable by radiation or surgery. In 2024, the FDA approved cosibelimab-ipdl (UnloxcytTM) for adults with locally advanced or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma that is not curable with surgery or radiation.
"In general, cancers that have spread to the lymph nodes are typically stage 2 or 3," says Juan Santamaria, MD, Nebraska Medicine surgical oncologist. "Many of these cancers are still treatable and even curable at this stage.
Doctors have known for decades that melanoma and many other cancer types tend to spread first into nearby lymph nodes before entering the blood and traveling to distant parts of the body.
How to Tell If Squamous Cell Carcinoma Has Spread
Most national and regional guidelines recommend first-line therapy with an immune checkpoint inhibitor (with or without chemotherapy) or a cetuximab-based regimen, by assessment of expression levels of the biomarker programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1).
The prognosis of patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell cancer is generally poor. The median survival in most series is 6 to 15 months depending on patient- and disease-related factors. Symptom-directed care plays an important role in the management of these patients.
They can differ greatly in their appearance, but most usually appear as a scaly or crusty area of skin or a lump, with a red, inflamed base. Squamous cell carcinomas are often tender, but most small SCCs are not usually painful.
Surgery to remove the cancer (surgical excision) is the most common treatment for invasive basal cell carcinoma BCC and squamous cell carcinoma SCC. Most small skin cancers are removed by a GP or a dermatologist in their consulting rooms. A surgeon may treat more complex cases.
You might have different types of doctors on your treatment team. Most basal and squamous cell cancers (as well as pre-cancers) are treated by dermatologists – doctors who specialize in treating skin diseases.
If you don't have squamous cell carcinoma removed, it becomes aggressive and invasive, growing deep into the surrounding area. As the cancer grows and spreads, it destroys the tissues it encounters, including skin, bone, fat, and nerves. Without treatment, the damage becomes severe and disfiguring.
Both basal and squamous cell skin cancers are relatively slow-growing, but the most important difference between squamous cell skin cancer versus basal cell skin cancer is that squamous cell skin cancer is more likely to spread to other organs. If it spreads, it can be life-threatening.
How Fast Does Melanoma Grow? Some types of melanoma can grow very quickly, becoming life-threatening in as little as six weeks. If left untreated it can spread to other parts of the body. Nodular melanoma is a highly dangerous form of melanoma that looks different from common melanomas and can grow in just a few weeks.
One of the first red flags of metastasized breast cancer is persistent pain or discomfort. This pain can manifest in various parts of the body, including the bones, back, or chest. It's essential to differentiate between normal aches and pains and those that are persistent and unexplained.
This is done to shrink the tumor, making it easier to remove. And in some patients, this pre-surgery (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy eliminates the cancer in nearby lymph nodes, which is typically associated with a better outlook.
Squamous cell carcinoma is a common type of skin cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin is usually not life-threatening. But if it's not treated, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin can grow large or spread to other parts of the body. The growth of the cancer can cause serious complications.
Clinical data indicate that, following neoadjuvant immunoradiotherapy, 90% of patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) experienced clinical-to-pathological downstaging, and 67% achieved a pathological complete response (pCR) (76).
While you can't prevent all types of squamous cell carcinoma, you can take steps to reduce your risk by: Avoiding excessive sun exposure. Avoid using tanning beds. Using sunscreen when you're outdoors.
Mohs Surgery
Mohs micrographic surgery is considered the gold standard for SCC treatment. This is especially the case for lesions on cosmetically sensitive areas like the face, neck, and hands. It involves removing the cancer layer by layer while examining each layer under a microscope.
A high-risk SCC is considered when the diameter of the tumor is larger than 2 cm as tumors of this size double the risk of SCC recurrence and triple the rate of metastasis compared to the smaller lesion. Therefore, a larger margin for excision is required on the high-risk SCC.