THE MANY FACES OF SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMA

BACKGROUND. Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma is a disease that has a multitude of clinical, histologic, and etiologic subtypes, all of whic h are of significance to the clinician. OBJECTIVE. Ten of the most com mon and clinically significant subtypes of squamous cell carcinoma are presented to emphasize the clinical importance of each and to emphasi ze and contrast their differences. METHODS. The literature of each sub type of squamous cell carcinoma is reviewed and capsulized. RESULTS. A ppropriate diagnosis, therapy, and postoperative management of all sub types of squamous cell carcinomas are dependent upon the understanding of their unique characteristics. CONCLUSION. The 10 common variants o f squamous cell carcinoma presented in this paper: neurotrophic squamo us cell carcinoma, Bowen's disease, squamous cell carcinoma in transpl ant patients, keratoacanthoma-like squamous cell carcinoma, squamous c ell carcinoma of the lip, adenoid squamous cell carcinoma, spindle cel l squamous cell carcinoma, radiation-induced squamous cell carcinoma, verrucous carcinoma, and Marjolin's ulcer, have unique etiologic, hist ologic, and clinical features that significantly influence their diagn osis, treatment, and subsequent management. It is imperative that phys icians responsible for the care of these patients understand the impli cation of these unique characteristics.