Squamous cells tend to have horizontally flattened, nearly oval-shaped nuclei because of the thin, flattened form of the cell. Squamous epithelium is found lining surfaces such as skin or alveoli in the lung, enabling simple passive diffusion as also found in the alveolar epithelium in the lungs.

Simple squamous epithelium cells are flat in shape and arranged in a single layer. This single layer is thin enough to form a membrane that compounds can move through via passive diffusion.

Recurrence of Squamous Cell Skin Cancer Less than 1% of people with this type of skin cancer die from it. The chances of recurrence depend on the site of the cancer but range from 3 to 23%, according to the National Cancer Institute. Squamous cell cancers on the nose, ears and lips are the most likely to come back.

They sometimes go away on their own, but they may come back. A small percentage of AKs may turn into squamous cell skin cancers.

The Treatment On occasion, an actinic keratosis will disappear on its own, but it will return when the skin is exposed to the sun again. If you scratch a lesion off, it will grow back. If treated early enough, an actinic keratosis can be removed before it becomes cancerous.

A common type of squamous cell cancer is the keratoacanthoma. It is a rapidly growing tumor which tends to appear suddenly and may reach a considerable size.

What does SCC look like? SCCs can appear as scaly red patches, open sores, rough, thickened or wart-like skin, or raised growths with a central depression. At times, SCCs may crust over, itch or bleed. The lesions most commonly arise in sun-exposed areas of the body.

Conclusions At our institution, patients with stage I, II, or III squamous cell carcinoma had a mean survival of approximately 3 years. Those with stage IV or recurrent squamous cell carcinoma could be stratified by either serum albumin concentration or by age into 2 groups with a median survival of 1 or 2 years.

In stage IIIB, cancer has spread (1) into the thick muscle layer or the connective tissue layer of the esophagus wall. Cancer is found in 1 to 6 lymph nodes near the tumor; or (2) into the diaphragm, pleura, sac around the heart, azygos vein, or peritoneum.