Squamous Cell Skin Cancer

My husband was diagnosed with squamous cell cancer.  How fast can squamous cell cancer infect internal organs? Someone told us that my husband might be in danger of this happening and it is freaking us out.  Also what is the standard treatment for squamous cell cancer and what is the prognosis for this, if caught early?  Thank you so much for your help.

[Jasmina Jankicevic, MD, MSc, CCRP]

Patients diagnosed with squamous cell skin cancer, and treated on time, have excellent prognosis.

Surgical excision is a treatment option with the highest cure rate. Other therapeutic options, depending on clinical features of a lesion, can be topical chemotherapy (e.g., 5-fluorouracil, imiquimod), cryosurgery, and photodynamic  therapy.

Squamous cell carcinoma in the skin has overall metastatic rate of 3-4%. Metastases are mainly directed to regional lymph nodes and appear 1-3 years after initial diagnosis.


Yours in optimal health,
Dr. Jasmina Jankicevic