Head and Neck Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Clinicopathological Risk Factors according to Age and Gender: A...

Clinicopathological risk factors for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (CSCCHN) are associated with local recurrence and metastasis.

To compare the incidence and risk factors of CSCCHN by age and gender in order to help refine the clinical evaluation and treatment process.

Clinical and pathological data of all patients diagnosed with CSCCHN during 2009-2011 were obtained from a central pathology laboratory in Israel. Estimated incidence rate calculation was standardized to the 2010 Israeli population. Independent risk factors for poorly differentiated CSCCHN were analyzed using logistic regression.

CSCCHN was diagnosed in 621 patients. Mean age was 75.2 years; mean tumor horizontal diameter was 11.1 ± 6.8 mm. The overall estimated incidence rate in males was higher than in females (106.2 vs. 54.3 per 1,000,000, P 0.001). Twenty cases (3.2%) had poorly differentiated CSCCHN. Scalp and ear anatomic locations were observed more often in males than in females (22.1% vs. 6.1% and 20.3% vs. 3.3%, respectively, P < 0.001). Per 1 mm increment, tumor horizontal diameter increased the risk for poorly differentiated CSCCHN by 6.7% (95% CI 1.3-12.4%, P = 0.014).

CSCCHN clinicopathological risk factors are not distributed evenly among different age and gender groups.