General Information
Note: Separate PDQ summaries on Screening for Skin Cancer and Prevention of
Skin Cancer are also available.
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer. The second most
common type of skin malignancy is squamous cell carcinoma. Although these 2
types of skin cancer are the most common of all malignancies, they account for
less than 0.1% of patient deaths due to cancer. Both of these types of skin
cancer are more likely to occur in individuals of light complexion who have had
significant exposure to sunlight, and both types of skin cancers are more
common in the southern latitudes of the Northern hemisphere.[1] The overall
cure rate for both types of skin cancer is directly related to the stage of the
disease and the type of treatment used.[2] However, since neither basal
cell carcinoma nor squamous cell carcinoma are reportable diseases,
precise 5-year cure rates are not known. Although basal cell carcinoma and
squamous cell carcinoma are by far the most frequent types of skin tumors, the
skin can also be the site of a large variety of malignant neoplasms. These
other types of malignant disease include malignant melanoma, cutaneous T-cell
lymphomas (mycosis fungoides), Kaposi’s sarcoma, extramammary Paget’s disease,
apocrine carcinoma of the skin, and metastatic malignancies from various
primary sites. (Refer to the PDQ summaries on Melanoma Treatment; Mycosis Fungoides and the Sézary Syndrome Treatment; and Kaposi’s Sarcoma Treatment for more
information.) Guidelines for the care of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma
have been published.[3]
References
- Wagner RF, Casciato DA: Skin cancers. In: Casciato DA, Lowitz BB, eds.: Manual of Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins, 2000, pp 336-373.
- Rowe DE, Carroll RJ, Day CL Jr: Long-term recurrence rates in previously untreated (primary) basal cell carcinoma: implications for patient follow-up. J Dermatol Surg Oncol 15 (3): 315-28, 1989.
[PUBMED Abstract]
- Guidelines of care for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Committee on Guidelines of Care. Task Force on Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma. J Am Acad Dermatol 28 (4): 628-31, 1993.
[PUBMED Abstract]
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