You're more likely to get squamous cell skin cancer if you get a lot of sun. The effects of sun on your skin add up over your lifetime. So, people who work outdoors and older people are more likely to get squamous cell skin cancer.

You may hear your doctor call this cancer squamous cell carcinoma or non-melanoma skin cancer.

Squamous cell skin cancer isn't the most serious type of skin cancer. The most serious type is called melanoma. (To learn more, see our information on Melanoma.) But squamous cell cancer can spread.

Here we talk about squamous cell skin cancer that hasn't spread.

To understand how you get squamous cell skin cancer and how it's treated, it helps to know something about your skin and how it protects you from the sun.

Your skin does lots of important jobs. It protects your body from injuries and

 

 

 

 

 

infection
You get an infection when viruses, bacteria, fungi or other tiny organisms get into your body. These bugs are so tiny that you can't see them without a microscope. For example, an infection in your airways causes the common cold. And an infection in your skin can cause rashes such as athlete's foot.

 

 

 

 

 

infections, and cools you down by making sweat when it's hot. It also has lots of nerves in it that give you your sense of touch.

Your skin has two layers.

Cancers are diseases that start in your own cells. Usually, cells grow, multiply and die off in a controlled way. But sometimes a cell starts to grow and multiply in an uncontrolled way. These abnormal cells group together to form a lump, called a tumor.

Not all tumors are cancer. Some tumors are benign, which means that they won't spread to other parts of your body. Most benign tumors are not harmful. But if your tumor is a cancer, the cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Cancer Institute.
What you need to know about skin cancer
January 2005. Available at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/skin (accessed on 13 March 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

²

To read more about the three main kinds of skin cancer, see Types of skin cancer.

As its name suggests, squamous cell skin cancer starts in your squamous cells. These cells sit in the top layer of your skin, just under the surface.

When your skin's squamous cells are damaged (usually by sunlight), they change. This means that:

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Cancer Institute.
What you need to know about skin cancer
January 2005. Available at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/skin (accessed on 13 March 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

²

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Martini FH.
The integumentary system.
In: Martini FH, Ober WC, Garrison CW, et al. Fundamentals of anatomy and physiology. 5th edition. Prentice Hall, New Jersey, U.S.A.; 2001.

 

 

 

 

 

³

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
MacPherson G (editor).
Black's medical dictionary.
39th edition. Madison Books, Lanham, U.S.A.; 1999.

 

 

 

 

 

⁴

If you don't have treatment for your tumour, the tumour can damage the tissues nearby and spread to other parts of your body. The part of sunlight that has the biggest role in causing skin cancer is ultraviolet (UV) light. There are two main types that affect your skin: UV-A and UV-B.

Both of these can cause skin cancer. But your skin makes melanin to protect you from the sun. Melanin is a brown or black pigment. When you're in the sun, your skin makes more melanin to stop it from being damaged. It's melanin that gives you a tan. But if your skin isn't very good at making melanin or can't make it fast enough, you get a sunburn.

Some people are more likely than others to get squamous cell skin cancer. Doctors call things that make you more likely to get a disease risk factors. If you have a risk factor for a disease, it doesn't mean that you'll definitely get the disease. It just means you're more likely to get it.

The most important risk factors for squamous cell skin cancer are your skin type and how much sun you get. If you have fair skin that burns easily, you're more likely to get skin damage that can lead to this type of cancer. And the more sun you get, the more likely you are to get this cancer. So, for example, if you work outdoors, you're more likely to get sunburned and to get this cancer than someone who works in an office.

Common risk factors for skin cancer are:

Less common risk factors are:

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