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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffFactors that can contribute to squamous cell carcinoma include:
- Chronic sun exposure. Spending a lot of time 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 an area that's sunny most of the time. The risk is also greater if most of your exposure occurred when you were young or you inherited a sensitivity that causes your DNA to sustain more damage than usual from UV light.
- Use of tanning beds. The risk of squamous cell carcinoma is more than doubled in people who use tanning beds regularly.
- 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.
- Your age. Squamous cell carcinoma is more likely to occur in older adults. Most cases occur in people over 45 years old. 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.
- A family history of skin cancer. If members of your immediate family have had skin cancer, your risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma is higher.
- 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 skin damaged by ultraviolet light.
- Smoking. Smoking may increase your risk of squamous cell carcinoma, and your risk is especially high if you are a current smoker. Tobacco may damage 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, a skin infection or an inflammatory skin disease, such as psoriasis.
References
- Squamous cell carcinoma. The Skin Cancer Foundation. http://www.skincancer.org/squamous-cell-carcinoma.html. Accessed Feb. 17, 2011.
- Detailed guide: Skin cancer — basal and squamous cell. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/003139-pdf.pdf. Accessed Feb. 17, 2011.
- Lim JL. Epidemiology and clinical features of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 17, 2011.
- Public health statement for arsenic. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/PHS/PHS.asp?id=18&tid=3. Accessed Feb. 18, 2011.
- Skin cancer treatment PDQ: Professional version. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/skin/HealthProfessional/AllPages/Print. Accessed Feb. 17, 2011.
- Common medications may increase sun sensitivity. The Skin Cancer Foundation. http://www.skincancer.org/common-medications-may-increase-sun-sensitivity.html. Accessed Feb. 18, 2011.
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