Loading
Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common type of lung cancer and the one most tightly linked to smoking; it starts in the flat cells lining the large central airways. Unlike adenocarcinoma it rarely carries a mutation a tablet can target, so treatment rests on chemotherapy with immunotherapy, and pemetrexed and bevacizumab are not used.
Squamous cell carcinoma shows keratinisation, intercellular bridges or, when poorly differentiated, expression of p40 or p63 without TTF-1; the WHO classification divides it into keratinising, non-keratinising and basaloid forms (the last has its own page) and in 2021 moved lymphoepithelial carcinoma into the squamous group (Nicholson 2022). Tumours are typically central and cavitate. Genomically it is a disease of complex, smoking-related damage rather than single drivers: the 178 tumours of the Cancer Genome Atlas averaged 360 exonic mutations each, TP53 was mutated in nearly all, NFE2L2 or KEAP1 in 34 percent and the squamous differentiation genes in 44 percent, and loss-of-function mutations in HLA-A were a new finding (TCGA 2012). EGFR mutations and ALK fusions are rare enough that guidelines test only never-smokers or mixed tumours.
How it differs from its parent: the non-small-cell lung cancer page and its driver subpages are largely about adenocarcinoma. In squamous disease the driver pathway rarely applies, pemetrexed is inactive and bevacizumab is avoided because of bleeding from central tumours, so the chemotherapy backbone is platinum with paclitaxel, nab-paclitaxel or gemcitabine.
How common: about 25 percent of lung cancers (NCI PDQ); Cancer Research UK lists it as the second most common type.
Treatment: for metastatic disease carboplatin with paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel plus pembrolizumab, the KEYNOTE-407 regimen linked here, or cemiplimab with chemotherapy (EMPOWER-Lung 3) or the PD-L1-high pathway on the parent page; the EGFR antibody necitumumab added a small survival gain to gemcitabine and cisplatin in SQUIRE and is licensed but little used; afatinib and docetaxel are second-line options; the Lung-MAP master protocol tests biomarker-matched drugs in previously treated squamous disease. Early-stage disease is treated as the parent's resectable and stage III pages describe.
GLOBOCAN counts it within lung cancer.
Averages across everyone diagnosed, often years ago. Your stage, subtype, age, fitness and the treatment you receive matter more than the average, and the numbers are improving quickly.
Central tumours arise in the large airways, peripheral ones in the alveoli; both drain to hilar then mediastinal nodes, and the pleural lining is a separate cancer site.
Same organ: Mediastinal germ cell tumour, Pleuropulmonary blastoma (types I, Ir, II and III), Type A and type AB thymoma, Type B1 and type B2 thymoma, Type B3 thymoma, Micronodular thymoma with lymphoid stroma, Adenocarcinoma of the lung, Large cell carcinoma of the lung, Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung, Adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung, Invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma of the lung, Adenocarcinoma in situ and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma of the lung, Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, Lymphoepithelial carcinoma of the lung, Pulmonary blastoma (adult), Non-small-cell lung cancer, Lung cancer (all types), Small-cell lung cancer, Mesothelioma, Pleural mesothelioma, Thymoma and thymic carcinoma, Childhood lung and airway tumours (pleuropulmonary blastoma, tracheobronchial tumours), Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumour (IMT), EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer, ALK-positive non-small-cell lung cancer, KRAS G12C-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer, ROS1-positive non-small-cell lung cancer, MET exon 14 and MET-amplified non-small-cell lung cancer, RET fusion-positive non-small-cell lung cancer, BRAF V600E-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer, HER2-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer, NTRK fusion-positive non-small-cell lung cancer, PD-L1-high non-small-cell lung cancer without a driver mutation, Resectable stage I to III non-small-cell lung cancer, Unresectable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer, Limited-stage small-cell lung cancer, Extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer, Lung neuroendocrine tumours (typical and atypical carcinoid), Thymoma (WHO types A, AB, B1, B2 and B3), Thymic carcinoma
Carboplatin with paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel plus pembrolizumab (KEYNOTE-407); cemiplimab with chemotherapy or the parent's PD-L1-high pathway as alternatives.
Docetaxel with or without ramucirumab; afatinib; biomarker-matched drugs through Lung-MAP.
Treated as the parent's resectable and stage III pages describe.
Country and place are remembered in this browser only. A postcode is sent to OpenStreetMap's Nominatim service to find coordinates when you press the button; nothing else leaves your device.
Query for this cancer: (TITLE:"Squamous cell carcinoma of the lung" OR ABSTRACT:"Squamous cell carcinoma of the lung" OR TITLE:"Squamous-cell carcinoma of the lung" OR ABSTRACT:"Squamous-cell carcinoma of the lung" OR TITLE:"Lung squamous cell carcinoma" OR ABSTRACT:"Lung squamous cell carcinoma" OR TITLE:"Squamous NSCLC" OR ABSTRACT:"Squamous NSCLC" OR TITLE:"Squamous" OR ABSTRACT:"Squamous" OR TITLE:"Squamous cell carcinoma ~25-30%" OR ABSTRACT:"Squamous cell carcinoma ~25-30%") AND (treatment OR therapy OR trial OR survival OR diagnosis). Results are unfiltered search hits about Squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, not a curated reading list.
The targets of this cancer's medicines and the ones linked to it directly.
Cases by country, the UK and NHS pathway and other country lenses, and the expert centres with trials on record.
One section per setting: the options named, what each is for, the trials behind them, the recorded trade-offs and the questions to ask.
Bleeding that will not stop, black or bloody stools, or unexplained bruising when platelets are expected to be low.
Persistent headache with extreme tiredness, nausea, dizziness on standing or low blood pressure. Vomiting, severe weakness or collapse is adrenal crisis.
Sudden severe abdominal pain, a hard or very tender abdomen, or abdominal pain with vomiting and fever. Boxed warning for gastrointestinal perforation on bevacizumab.
Fainting, near-fainting, or an irregular or racing heartbeat; several kinase inhibitors prolong the QT interval and the labels require ECG and electrolyte monitoring.
Take on an empty stomach; a high-fat meal cuts exposure by half.
No pharmacokinetic interactions expected (antibody). See the irAE guide for toxicity management.
See all on the product pages:AfatinibCarboplatinCemiplimabDocetaxelNab-paclitaxelPaclitaxel / nab-paclitaxelPembrolizumabRamucirumab·Printable cards in the navigator
Newly diagnosed? Read the first 60 days with Squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, then print the one-page appointment sheet with room for the answers.
Print this page for your appointment (your browser's print command). These prompts are for discussion; your clinical team knows your case.
Everything in development, the open problems and what is being done about them, the roadmaps, and what changed on this record.
Every connected record, the notes, the JSON, Markdown and RDF twins, and where the record came from and when it was checked.