a review of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma epidemiology, diagnosis, and management

Context: cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cscc) is the second most common type of skin cancer and its incidence continues to rise worldwide. while the majority of csccs have excellent prognosis, a subset have the propensity to cause poor outcomes. evidence acquisition: a thorough pubmed search was done and a collection of cscc-relevant articles were selected based on the expert opinion. results: a number of high-risk factors have been identified including perineural invasion (pni), desmoplastic growth pattern, poor differentiation, high risk location and large diameter. various staging systems have been developed based on these high-risk factors. radiologic imaging is important for high-stage tumors and is likely associated with more aggressive management. conclusions: although surgical management is the gold standard, newer therapies such as programmed cell death protein-1 (pd-1) inhibitors show promise for locally advanced or metastatic disease. despite advances in treatment, early diagnosis and prevention of cscc is still the most important measure to ensure good outcomes.