What Is The Prognosis Of Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Cutaneous or skin carcinomas are generally locally destructive with infrequent metastasis . Any recurrence is usually seen within weeks to months.
Digital, nail bed tumors may recur in the same digit or in another after several months or years. Approximately 1/3 of tumors in this site will metastasize after amputation of the digit because they can spread up to the nerves even when there is a complete surgical margin around the tumor. Tumors that histologically show well differentiated cells may still metastasize.
Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Description When squamous cell carcinoma occurs in the mouth and throat, it is called oral squamous cell carcinoma. It is mostly located in the gums or tonsils. It also invades the bone in dogs. The metastatic rate for non tonsillar tumor in dogs is approximately 20%, but it is dependant on the site. The rostral oral cavity has a low metastatic rate while the caudal tongue and tonsil have a high metastatic potential.
Sometimes a fine needle aspirate with cytology will provide enough sample tissue for diagnosis.
Treatment may involve surgery, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy. Treatment depends upon the location of the tumor and the degree of invasiveness and proliferation.
Radiation therapy is beneficial if the tumor is unresectable, or if surgery cant remove the tumor completely.
Chemotherapy may be added to therapy, depending on the circumstances.
References
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What Is The Tongue Cancer Survival Rate
If it has spread to a different part of the body, the stage is regional or distant. The earlier tongue cancer is caught, the better chance a person has of surviving five years after being diagnosed. For tongue cancer, 29.4% are diagnosed at the local stage. The 5-year relative survival for localized tongue cancer is 82.1%.
Can Scc Be Cured
When SCC is found earlyand most aretreatment usually cures this cancer.7 The first choice of treatment is to remove the tumor. Excision or Mohs surgery are used to treat SCCs that are higher risk for recurrence. Mohs surgery offers the highest cure rate for SCC. About 92 percent of SCC can be cured with excision. Curettage and electrodesiccation cures 96% of low-risk tumors.12,13
Having one SCC increases your risk of another separate SCC, so regular follow-up examinations are important.
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What You Need To Know
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States and worldwide.
- 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70.
- More than 2 people die of skin cancer in the U.S. every hour.
- Having 5 or more sunburns doubles your risk for melanoma.
- When detected early, the 5-year survival rate for melanoma is 99 percent.
Theres more than meets the eye when it comes to skin cancer, so make sure you know all the facts. You can #SharetheFacts on social media by downloading images from our Skin Cancer Awareness Toolkit. For the latest news, visit our Press Room.
Can Bcc Be Cured

Most BCCs can be treated and removed with minor surgery or other local treatment. The goals of treatment are to completely remove all cancer cells while preserving the function and appearance of the affected body part. Less than 5 percent of BCCs come back after Mohs surgery and wide excision compared to 15 percent or higher for some other treatment options.8
Your doctor will recommend a treatment approach based on how likely the cancer is to grow back and its location. Even when one BCC is removed, your risk of another separate BCC is higher. Ask your doctor how oftenand for how many yearsyou should have follow-up exams.
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How Are Skin Cancer Survival Rates Measured
Cancer survival is measured in many different ways, including:1
- Five-year overall survival rate is the percentage of people who are still alive 5 years after diagnosis or treatment. If the 5-year overall survival rate after diagnosis is 85 percent, that means that 5 years after being diagnosed with melanoma, 85 of 100 people are still alive. Some of those people may still have cancer, others do not.
- Disease-free survival is how long a person survives after treatment without any sign of that cancer.
- Median overall survival is the average length of time from treatment that half the study population is still alive. For example, consider 100 people who are treated with a medication and 3.1 years later, 50 have died and 50 are alive. The median overall survival is 3.1 years.
When looking at a skin cancer survival rate, it is important to know what group was studied. Survival rates can differ greatly by cancer stage, age at diagnosis, gender, and race/ethnicity. The most accurate numbers about skin cancer survival are about melanoma because cases of melanoma are tracked in national cancer registries.
What Affects Your Prognosis
There are a few key things that have an impact on your tonsil cancer prognosis, including your age and health, the stage of the cancer, and whether you have human papillomavirus — an infection that’s passed through sex.
Your age. Tonsil cancer used to be diagnosed more often in people in their 60s or 70s. Today younger people get this cancer. One reason is that HPV is more common in young people. HPV raises your chances of getting a cancer of the mouth and throat.
Being young could be an advantage when it comes to your prognosis. Some studies show that people who are 40 or younger have a better outlook than older people.
Your health. Good overall health could be another reason why young people do better than older people with this cancer. Having heart disease, lung disease, or another long-term condition can lead to a worse prognosis.
Your cancer stage and grade. You’ll have a better outlook if your doctor catches your cancer early, before it grows and spreads. Early-stage tonsil cancer that has not spread outside of the tonsil can be treated and possibly even cured.
When tonsil cancer spreads to the lymph nodes, it can travel from there to other parts of your body. Cancer that spreads to lymph nodes in your neck or to other organs has a worse prognosis than cancer that is only in your throat. This doesn’t mean your cancer can’t be treated — only that it may be harder to treat than an early-stage cancer.
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Comparison Among The Four Groups
The four groups had similar distribution regarding age , drinker status , and HPV positivity . There was significant difference of distribution of gender , smoker status , primary site , pathologic tumor stage , tumor differentiation , PNI , LVI , ECS , positive margin , neck lymph node stage , and p16 positivity . Patients with greater number of positive lymph nodes tended to be a smoking man with SCC arising from the tongue or the floor of the mouth. Adverse pathologic characteristics including high tumor stage, presence of PNI, LVI, and ECS, and cervical nodal disease were more frequent in patients having more than 5 positive lymph nodes. Additionally, p16 positivity was associated with greater number of positive lymph nodes.
Table 2. Comparison of clinical and pathologic variables among patients with different numbers of positive lymph nodes.
During our follow-up, with a mean time of 40.0 months, a total of 463 patients received adjuvant treatment, of which 286 patients received radiotherapy, 177 patients received chemoradiotherapy. Recurrence occurred in 340 patients: 252 patients had locoregional recurrence, and 88 patients had concurrent locoregional recurrence and distant metastasis. Hundred patients received salvage surgical treatment, and the rest received palliative chemotherapy. Two hundred and sixty seven patients died of the disease. The overall 5-year DFS and DSS rates were 41 and 41%, respectively.
Where Do These Numbers Come From
The American Cancer Society relies on information from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, maintained by the National Cancer Institute , to provide survival statistics for different types of cancer.
The SEER database tracks 5-year relative survival rates for oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers in the United States, based on how far the cancer has spread. The SEER database, however, does not group cancers by AJCC TNM stages . Instead, it groups cancers into localized, regional, and distant stages:
- Localized: There is no sign the cancer has spread outside the organ where it started .
- Regional: The cancer has spread to nearby structures or lymph nodes.
- Distant: The cancer has spread to distant parts of the body such as the lungs.
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Survival Statistics For Non
Most cancer registries do not collect information about non-melanoma skin cancers. These cancers are difficult to keep track of. The information often doesnt get reported because non-melanoma skin cancer is usually diagnosed and treated easily in a doctors office.
In Canada, a few provinces do collect information on new cases of non-melanoma skin cancer. Canadian statistics for non-melanoma skin cancer, including survival statistics, are based on the information gathered by these provinces.
Survival statistics for non-melanoma skin cancer are general estimates and must be interpreted carefully. Because these statistics are based on the experience of groups of people, they cannot be used to predict a particular persons chances of survival.
There are many different ways to measure and report cancer survival statistics. Your doctor can explain the statistics for non-melanoma skin cancer and what they mean to you.
What Are The Treatment Options For Squamous Cell Carcinoma Of The Skin
SCC is curable if treated in the early stages. Therapy is determined by the size and location of cancer, age, recurrence, and overall health.
- Surgery: Surgery is usually the treatment of choice for SCC:
- Mohs surgery: Cancerous tissue is removed and examined at the same time.
- Excisional surgery: Malignant part of the skin is removed along with a portion of healthy tissue. Healthy tissue is examined to determine whether there has been a complete removal of malignant cells.
- Electrosurgery: Lesion is scraped with the use of a curette and burned with an electrocautery needle to kill any leftover malignant cells and to reduce bleeding. This is usually performed on small lesions.
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Squamous Cell Carcinoma Prognosis And Survival Rate
If caught early, squamous cell carcinoma is highly treatable. While skin cancer is the most common cancer type among U.S. adults, cases are not required to be reported to cancer registries, so exact incidence breakdowns of types like squamous cell carcinoma are not known. However, according to numbers tracked by the Canadian Cancer Society, the five-year relative survival rate is 95 percent.
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Squamous Cell Carcinoma Stages

Squamous cell carcinoma stages represent the size of a tumor and how far it has spread. However, squamous cell carcinoma is usually very slow to metastasize most cases are diagnosed while the cancer is still confined to the upper layer of the skin. As a result, these tumors may not be staged if it is clear that the cancer has not invaded nearby tissues at the time of diagnosis.
If a squamous cell carcinoma does require staging, oncologists will evaluate a number of factors, including:
- The size of the tumor
- Whether the tumor has grown into the dermis or subcutis levels of the skin
- Whether the cancer has invaded the bones
- Where on the body the tumor developed
- How the cells appear when viewed under a microscope
- Whether the cancer has spread to lymph nodes or distant organs
After evaluating these factors, the oncologist will assign one of the following squamous cell carcinoma stages to the tumor:
- Stage 0 Cancer is only present on the epidermis .
- Stage 1 Cancer has grown deep into the skin, but has not spread to nearby lymph nodes or healthy tissues.
- Stage 2 Cancer has grown deep into the skin and displays one or more high-risk features , but has not spread to nearby lymph nodes or healthy tissues.
- Stage 3 Cancer has grown into lymph nodes, but has not spread to any organs other than the skin.
- Stage 4 Cancer has spread to one or more distant organs, such as the lungs, liver, brain or distant parts of the skin.
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What Are The Survival Rates For Bcc
Cancer registries do not collect information about basal cell carcinoma because the majority of BCCs are diagnosed and treated easily in a doctors office.
Advanced BCC is so rare that there is very little information about survival rates. One study of 100 cases of metastatic BCC between 1981 and 2011 showed that median overall survival is 4.5 years. How far the cancer spread made a big difference in survival. For regional metastasis, survival was 7.2 years. For distant metastasis, it was 2 years. These estimates are based on a time when chemotherapy or radiation therapy were the only treatment options.9
Survival time with advanced BCC might be improving with newer treatments. In trials for a targeted therapy called Erivedge® , median overall survival was 2.8 years. The 1-year survival rate was 84.4 percent and the 2-year survival rate was 68 percent. Odomzo® , another targeted therapy, has similar survival outcomes. Trials of sonidegib show that 2-year survival is 93 percent for people with locally advanced BCC and 69 percent for people with metastatic BCC.10,11
What Is The Prognosis Of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Bladder Cancer
Tumor stage, lymph node involvement, and tumor grade have been shown to be of independent prognostic value in SCC. However, pathologic stage is the most important prognostic factor. In one relatively large series of 154 cases, the overall 5-year survival rate was 56% for pT1 and 68% for pT2 tumors. However, the 5-year survival rate for pT3 and pT4 tumors was only 19%.
Several studies have demonstrated grading to be a significant morphologic parameter in SCC. In one series, 5-year survival rates for grade 1, 2, and 3 SCC was 62%, 52%, and 35%, respectively. In the same study of patients undergoing cystectomy, the investigators suggested that a higher number of newly formed blood vessels predicts unfavorable disease outcome.
In SCC, the survival rate appears to be better with radical surgery than with radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. In locally advanced tumors, however, neoadjuvant radiation improves the outcome. Sex and age have not been prognostically significant in SCC.
References
National Comprehensive Cancer Network. NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. Bladder Cancer. NCCN.org. Available at . Version 6.2020 July 16, 2020 Accessed: February 23, 2021.
Escudero DO, Shirodkar SP, Lokeshwar VB. Bladder Carcinogenesis and Molecular Pathways. Lokeshwar VB. Bladder Tumors: Molecular Aspects and Clinical Management. New York: Springer Science 2010. 23-41.
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What Is The Prognosis For Squamous Cell Carcinoma Of Oral Cavity
Nevertheless, the prognosis of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Oral Cavity depends upon many factors including the stage of the tumor and health status of the affected individual. There is a possibility of local or regional metastasis, which can involve the lymph nodes. This may dictate the course of the condition.
How Long Can You Live With Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Most of squamous cell carcinomas can be cured if they are treated early. Once squamous cell carcinoma has spread beyond the skin, though, less than half of people live five years, even with aggressive treatment. There are many ways to treat squamous cell carcinoma that has not spread. These include:
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Factors That Could Affect Your Prognosis
Certain aspects of your health or cancer could affect your outlook. For example, people who have a weakened immune system from a disease like HIV or a medication they take tend to have a less positive outlook.
The location of the tumor also matters. Cancers on the face, scalp, fingers, and toes are more likely to spread and return than those on other parts of the body. SCC that starts in an open wound is also more likely to spread.
Larger tumors or ones that have grown deep in the skin have a higher risk of growing or returning. If a cancer does recur after treatment, the prognosis is less positive than it was the first time around.
Ask your doctor if you have any risk factors that can be managed or controlled. You may need more aggressive treatment, or to be monitored more closely for recurrence.
Survival Significance Of Number Of Positive Lymph Nodes In Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Stratified By P16
- 1Department of Head Neck and Thyroid, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
- 2Department of Oral Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
Objectives: To analyze the significance of the number of positive lymph nodes in oral squamous cell carcinoma stratified by p16.
Methods: A total of 674 patients were retrospectively enrolled and divided into 4 groups based on their number of positive lymph nodes . The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the disease-free survival and disease-specific survival rates. Cox model was used to evaluate the independent risk factor.
The number of positive lymph nodes is significantly associated with the survival in oral SCC, its survival effect is not affected by p16 status.
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