Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin (non-metastatic)

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma is a malignant tumour of keratinocytes arising in the epidermis, with histological evidence of dermal invasion. Incidence varies by country and skin colour, and is as high as 1/100 in white residents of tropical Australia. People with fair skin colour who sunburn easily without tanning, people with xeroderma pigmentosum, and people who are immunosuppressed are most susceptible to squamous cell carcinoma.

We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: Does the use of sunscreen help prevent cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma? What is the optimal margin for primary excision of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma? Does micrographically controlled surgery result in lower rates of local recurrence than standard primary excision? Does radiotherapy after surgery affect local recurrence of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library and other important databases up to January 2007 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

We found 11 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.

In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: micrographically controlled surgery, primary excision, radiotherapy after surgery, and sunscreens.