Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 6, 2026
Isolation and Characterization of a Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Subpopulation Having Stem Cell Characteristics
Published on: May 11, 2016
Cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas of the lower extremity: a distinct subset of squamous cell carcinomas
Changhyun Kim1, Christine J Ko2, David J Leffell1
1Department of Dermatology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
Background:
Some patients develop a disproportionate number of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) on their lower extremity (LE).
Objective:
We sought to characterize the clinical features, treatment, and outcome in patients who develop multiple LE SCCs.
Methods:
We identified 22 patients with 4 or more biopsy-diagnosed LE SCCs during a 4.5-year study period. The location, size, treatment, and clinical outcome of each LE SCC were recorded.
Results:
Of the 22 patients studied, 18 were female. Of the 360 SCCs our patients developed, 260 (72.2%) were on the LE. The incidence of SCCs in these patients was nearly 7 times greater than the incidence of basal cell carcinoma in the same patients.
Limitations:
The number of patients is small and limits definitive conclusions about prevalence of SCCs on the LE in the general population.
Conclusions:
LE SCCs are a distinct subset of cutaneous SCCs and may have distinctive clinical features and biologic behavior requiring additional study.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Skin Cancer
Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC): BCC is the most common type of skin cancer, accounting for about 80% of cases. It typically develops in...
01:18Distinctive Features of Adult Stem Cells vs Cancer Stem Cells
Adult stem cells
Adult stem cells are tissue-specific; hence, they divide to develop the tissue from which they originate. One type of adult stem cell is the epithelial stem cell, which gives rise to the keratinocytes in the multiple layers of epithelial cells in the epidermis of the skin. Adult bone marrow has three distinct types of stem cells:...