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SCC is the second most common type of skin cancer in the UK. There are about 10,000 new cases each year. It is rare in people under the age of 60. It is three times more common in men than in women.
It begins in the squamous cells found in the outer layer of the skin (epidermis) and in our mucous membranes. The information in this section is only about SCC of the skin.
SCC occurs when these normal body cells get out of control, multiply and spread. The cells clump together to form a cancerous (malignant) tumour which can then grow and damage healthy parts of the body. This is primary cancer. For more general information on 'what is cancer', click here.
At the earliest stage, it is sometimes called carcinoma in situ or intraepidermal carcinoma. Bowen’s disease is a particular type of in situ cancer that can occasionally form an SCC. ‘In situ’ means that the cancer has not spread beyond the top layer of the skin (the epidermis). SCC can also begin from a site affected by actinic keratosis.
