TREATING SQUAMOUS CELL SKIN CANCER:
TREATMENT OPTIONS
Once you have gone over the pathology report and staging information with your doctor, it’s time to plan the treatment strategy. This section discusses the different types of therapy that are available for squamous cell skin cancer and their advantages and disadvantages.*
Surface/Destructive Therapy
These treatments are applied directly to your skin to treat squamous cell skin cancer.
Curettage & Electrodesiccation (C&E)
In this procedure, the doctor scrapes the cancer from your skin (curettage). Then s/he applies heat to destroy any remaining cancer cells (electrodessication), which also stops any bleeding.
Advantages:
- It’s quick, often completed in one office visit
- It does not require stitches (or a follow-up appointment to remove them)
- It’s a non-invasive option for people who don’t want or can’t tolerate a more-invasive procedure
- For high-risk groups who have multiple squamous cell skin cancers, C & E allows rapid treatment of multiple cancers at the same time. It’s just important to check the pathology to make sure there are no high-risk features
Disadvantages:
- It does not work well on areas that have hair
- It may not heal as well as an excision, so it probably should not be used on an area where you are concerned about the appearance
- If the tumor is deeper than expected, it may still need to be surgically removed
- It is not as effective as surgery
Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Curettage & Electrodesiccation
What are the risks of performing a C&E?
How long will the procedure take?
Will I require additional treatment after a C&E?
How do I care for the wound after a C&E?
How long does it take to heal from a C&E?
Will I have to come back at a later time for a follow-up visit?
Will the procedure be covered by insurance and what, if any, out-of-pocket expenses will there be?
Cryosurgery
This procedure involves applying a cold substance, such as liquid nitrogen, to the tumor and freezing it off. It may be considered for low-risk squamous cell skin cancer when more effective therapies are either not advised or impractical. It can also be considered in individuals with conditions that cause them to form large numbers of tumors.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Cryosurgery
What are the risks of cryosurgery?
How long will the procedure take?
What are the side effects of cryosurgery and how will they be managed?
Will I require additional treatment after cryosurgery?
How do I care for the wound after cryosurgery?
How long does it take to heal from cryosurgery?
Will I have to come back at a later time for a follow-up visit?
Will the procedure be covered by insurance and what, if any, out-of-pocket expenses will there be?
Surgery
There are two general types of surgery for squamous cell skin cancer:
Wide Local Excision
A dermatologist (or specialized surgeon) cuts out the cancer and an area around the tumor. Removing an extra part of skin (a wide margin) assures that s/he got all the cancer. If there is a big enough margin of normal skin around the cancer cells, your treatment is complete. If not, your doctor may need to go back and take more.
Mohs Micrographic Surgery (MMS)
Mohs (rhymes with nose) surgery is recommended for squamous cell skin cancer that is likely to recur (come back) or is in an area where you don’t want to remove a lot of skin (such as the face, neck, or hand).
In Mohs (also called microscopic controlled excision) surgery, you are awake while the surgeon removes the smallest amount of tissue needed to treat the cancer. Often this procedure can be done in the medical office but sometimes needs to be performed at a surgical center. It is done at a hospital only rarely, when surgery will be extensive.
The surgeon removes the skin cancer that can be seen. Then a thin layer of surrounding skin is cut away and examined under a microscope. If cancer cells are found in that additional layer, the process will be repeated until no cancer cells can be seen. The surgeon will then decide the best way to treat the wound.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor When Scheduling Surgery
Will this surgery be performed in the clinic, at a same-day surgery center, or at a hospital?
How long will the procedure take?
Who will perform the surgery?
Should I have someone drive me?
What side effects may occur and how will they be managed?
Will I be left with a scar?
Will I require plastic surgery? If so, will that be done simultaneously/on the same day?
What will my recovery process look like?
Will I be limited in what activities I can perform?
Do you anticipate that I will be cancer-free after surgery?
Will the surgery be covered by insurance and, what, if any, out-of-pocket expenses will there be?
Questions to Ask your Doctor Immediately After Surgery
Do you think you got all of the cancer out?
Did you have to repair the wound (with a skin graft or flap)? What do I need to know about that?
(If applicable) Will the plastic surgery that was performed be successful?
How do I reduce scarring?
What medications can I take for pain? What kind of stitches do I have? Do you need to take them out?
What kind of symptoms do I need to look for if my surgical site is not healing properly?
What kind of activity limitations will I have? For how long?
Are any additional pathology tests being conducted? If so, when will we have those results?
Will I have to come back at a later time for a follow-up?
Questions to Ask Your Doctor at Your Surgical Follow-up
Are we confident that all of the cancer is out with a sufficient “margin” of clear skin around it?
If not, are you going to perform another surgery? Are there any other procedures that I need?
Has my cancer spread?
What additional treatment, if any, will I need?
If I need to see any additional specialists, whom do you recommend?
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is used if you can’t undergo surgery or if you really don’t want it. Radiation therapy can also be used in addition to surgery to help prevent the cancer from coming back (adjuvant therapy). Smaller and thinner tumors may respond well to this type of therapy. Finally, if the skin cancer has grown deep or spread, radiation therapy may help you feel more comfortable because it can control some of the symptoms associated with the cancer.
The different types of radiation therapy used to treat squamous cell skin cancer are:
- Superficial radiation therapy: Radiation beams are sent just beneath the skin, treating only the tumor
- External beam radiation therapy: High-energy beams of radiation are directed into the tumor in order to kill cancer cells, but no radioactive sources are placed inside your body
- Brachytherapy: Radioactive implants are placed directly inside (or near) the cancer. Also called internal radiation, this therapy is also used to treat prostate cancer
Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Radiation Therapy
Why do you believe radiation is a possible treatment option?
How many treatments will I receive?
Should I have someone drive me to treatments?
What side effects may occur and how will they be managed?
What kind of activity limitations will I have? For how long?
Will the treatments affect my ability to work?
What is my prognosis?
What type of follow-up will I need?
Do I need regular scans?
Should I get a second opinion?
Will the treatments be covered by insurance and what, if any, out-of-pocket expenses will there be?
Should I consider enrolling in a clinical trial? Why or why not?
Photodynamic therapy is a treatment that uses light-activated radiotherapy. Although this type of therapy is used for some basal cell carcinomas, it is not considered effective for squamous cell skin cancer. Similarly, laser therapy is also not considered effective for squamous cell skin cancer.
Systemic Therapy
Systemic therapy is therapy given throughout your body. Two systemic therapy medications are currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for squamous cell skin cancer: cemiplimab and pembrolizumab. Both are immunotherapy medications, which means they help your immune system fight cancer.
Cemiplimab
Cemiplimab (Libtayo®) is FDA approved for treatment of advanced squamous cell skin cancer, which includes locally advanced or unresectable (which means it can’t be removed with surgery) squamous cell skin cancer as well as squamous cell skin cancer that has metastasized (spread) to the lymph nodes or distant regions. It is given in the vein (IV, intravenously) every three weeks, usually in a hospital or cancer center. Cemiplimab belongs to a class of drugs called programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors. PD-1 inhibitors reactivate part of the immune system (the T-cell system) that has been suppressed by cancer cells. When this T-cell system is reactivated, it can then do its job and seek out and kill cancer cells.
In clinical trials, cemiplimab shrank tumors in about half the patients with squamous cell skin cancer. This shrinking lasted six months or longer in 61% of the patients who responded to cemiplimab. A small proportion (about 4%) of patients had their tumors disappear completely. Cemiplimab caused side effects that are typically seen with PD-1 inhibitors, which are mostly related to the immune system being activated. These side effects included lung problems, intestinal problems, liver problems, hormonal issues, kidney problems, and skin issues such as rash, blistering, and sores in the mouth. For more information about these issues, see Dealing With the Side Effects of Therapy (Living With Squamous Cell Skin Cancer).
Pembrolizumab
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) is approved by the FDA for the treatment of squamous cell skin cancer that is (1) locally advanced and unresectable (which means it can’t be removed with surgery) or can’t be treated with radiation; or (2) recurrent (that has come back); or (3) metastatic (spread to the lymph nodes or distant parts of the body). Pembrolizumab is given in the vein (IV, intravenously), every three weeks or every six weeks, typically at a hospital or an infusion center. The drug is a PD-1 inhibitor. In clinical trials, over a third of patients with squamous cell skin cancer responded to pembrolizumab. The majority of these responders did well long term. Pembrolizumab had side effects that are typically seen with PD-1 inhibitors, many of which are associated with immune-system activation. These include lung problems, intestinal problems, liver problems, hormonal issues, kidney problems, and skin issues such as rash and blistering. For more information about these issues, see Dealing With the Side Effects of Therapy (Living With Squamous Cell Skin Cancer).
Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Systemic Therapy
Why do you believe systemic therapy is a possible treatment option?
How many treatments will I receive?
Should I have someone drive me to treatments?
What side effects may occur and how will they be managed?
What kind of activity limitations will I have? For how long?
Will the treatments affect my ability to work?
Can I take vitamins, supplements, herbs, medicinal marijuana, etc. while on this treatment? Why or why not?
What is my prognosis?
What type of follow-up will I need?
Do I need regular scans?
Should I get a second opinion?
Should I consider enrolling in a clinical trial? Why or why not?
After Treatment Ends and Follow-Up Care
You may have had one or a combination of treatments detailed on this page, but now that treatment has ended you may find yourself asking, “now what?”
Questions to Ask Your Doctor When You are Finished with Treatment and are Discussing Follow-Up Care
What type of follow-up care will I need?
What are the chances of my skin cancer returning or of developing skin cancer elsewhere on my body?
What can I do to decrease my risk for future skin cancers?
How can I increase my chances of detecting any future skin cancers?
Do you recommend any groups or organizations for emotional support for both myself and my family?
What is the risk of my family members developing skin cancer?
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