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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffFactors that can contribute to squamous cell carcinoma include:
- Chronic sun exposure. A lifetime spent in the sun — or in commercial tanning booths — is the most common cause of squamous cell carcinoma. The threat is greater if you live in a sunny or high-altitude location, both of which expose you to more UV radiation. The risk is also greater if most of your exposure occurred when you were young or you inherit a sensitivity that causes your DNA to sustain more damage than usual from UV light.
- Fair skin. If you have very light skin or freckle or sunburn easily, you're more likely to develop skin cancer than is someone with a darker complexion. Fair-skinned people of Northern European ancestry are particularly at risk. Queensland, Australia, has the highest skin cancer rate in the world because it has unusually high levels of UV radiation and because most of its inhabitants have sensitive English or Irish complexions.
- Your age. Squamous cell carcinoma is more likely to occur in older adults. The average age at which this condition is diagnosed is 66. However, squamous cell carcinoma is occurring with increasing frequency in younger people.
- Your sex. Men are far more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma than women are, probably because of their greater exposure to the sun.
- A personal history of skin cancer. If you've had squamous cell carcinoma once, you're much more likely to develop it again.
- Weakened immune system. People with weakened immune systems are at greater risk of many diseases, including skin cancer. This includes people who have chronic leukemias, other cancers or HIV/AIDS, and those who have undergone organ transplants or who are, for other reasons, taking medications that suppress the immune system.
- Rare genetic disorder. People with xeroderma pigmentosum, which causes an extreme sensitivity to sunlight, have a greatly increased risk of developing skin cancer because they have little or no ability to repair damage to the skin from ultraviolet light.
- Smoking. Smoking increases your risk of squamous cell carcinoma, and your risk is especially high if you are a current smoker. Although researchers aren't sure why smoking has this effect, they theorize that tobacco damages DNA, making cancerous changes in cells more likely.
- Skin inflammation or injury. You have a slightly higher chance of developing squamous cell carcinoma if you have a large scar, skin infection or an inflammatory skin disease, such as psoriasis.
References
- Wood GS, et al. Nonmelanoma skin cancers: Basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. In: Abeloff MD, et al. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/119479231-3/0/1709/83.html?tocnode=55017273&fromURL=83.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06694-8..50078-6--cesec29_2759. Accessed Feb. 6, 2009.
- Squamous cell carcinoma. American Academy of Dermatology. http://www.aad.org/public/Publications/pamphlets/SquamousCellCarcinoma.htm. Accessed Feb. 6, 2009.
- Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. National Cancer Institute. Accessed Feb. 6, 2009.
- Skin cancer prevention. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/prevention/skin/Patient/page2. Accessed Feb. 6, 2009.
- Detailed guide: Skin cancer - basal and squamous cell. American Cancer Society. Accessed Feb. 6, 2009.
- Ferri F. Squamous cell carcinoma. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2009. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/119479231-4/801716560/1417/447.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-04836-1..50007-1--cesec44_620. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Urist MM, et al. Melanoma and cutaneous malignancies. In: Townsend CM, et al. Townsend: Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: W.B. Saunders; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/119479231-5/0/1565/1.html?tocnode=54736195&fromURL=1.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3675-3..X5001-1--TOP_1. Accessed Feb. 6, 2009.
- Sunscreen. The Skin Cancer Foundation. http://www.skincancer.org/the-scfs-guide-to-sunscreens.html. Accessed Feb. 6, 2009.
- Arsenic toxicity exposure pathways. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/arsenic/exposure_pathways.html. Accessed Feb. 6, 2009.
- Ridky TW. Nonmelanoma skin cancer. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2007;57:484.
- Neoplasia. In: Kumar V, et al. Robbins and Cotran's Pathologic Basis of Disease. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/119515236-4/801835407/1249/66.html#4-u1.0-B0-7216-0187-1..50011-0--cesec92_600. Accessed Feb. 6, 2009.
- Premalignant and malignant nonmelanoma skin tumors. In: Habif TP. Clinical Dermatology: A Color Guide to Diagnosis and Therapy. 4th ed. New York, N.Y.: Mosby; 2004. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/119515236-5/0/1195/157.html?tocnode=51442435&fromURL=157.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-01319-8..50023-6_2588. Accessed Feb. 6, 2009.
- Common questions about diet and cancer. American Cancer Society. Accessed Feb. 6, 2009.
- Food Groups to Encourage. In: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 6th Edition. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office; 2005. http://www.health.gov/DietaryGuidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter5.htm. Accessed Feb 6, 2009.
