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, skin colour, and outdoor behaviour, and is as high as 400/100,000 in Australia. People with fair skin colour who have high sun exposure and sunburn easily with little or no 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 and actinic (solar) keratosis? What is the optimal margin for primary excision of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (non-metastatic)? Does radiotherapy after surgery affect local recurrence of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in people with squamous cell carcinoma of the skin (non-metastatic)? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to August 2013 (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 five 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: sunscreens, primary excision, and radiotherapy after surgery.