What is squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)?

Answer

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common cell type associated with bladder cancer in developed countries (urothelial carcinoma is the most common type of bladder cancer [about 90%]),^{[1, 2]}accounting for 2%-5% of bladder neoplasms.^[3] In the United States, an estimated 1%-2% of bladder cancers are squamous cell carcinomas,^{[2, 4]} often associated with spinal cord injury and with the long-term use of an indwelling catheter.^[3] Worldwide, however, squamous cell carcinoma is the most common form of bladder cancer, accounting for up to 73% of cases in developing nations, particularly regions with a high prevalence of schistosomiasis (eg, Middle East, Southeast Asia, South America).^{[5, 6]} Human papillomavirus infection also appears to have an association with squamous cell bladder carcinoma.^{[7, 8, 9, 10, 11]}

Squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder is an aggressive, commonly invasive, disease that generally presents at a more advanced stage than urothelial carcinoma.^{[3, 4, 12, 13]}

For more information, see Bladder Cancer, as well as Pathologic Findings in Small Cell Bladder Carcinoma and Cystoscopy.

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Squamous cell carcinoma. Note the infiltration into the muscularis propria by small nests and individual tumor cells.
Squamous carcinoma in situ adjacent to the tumor.

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