The results of radiotherapy for squamous cell carcinomas of the skin

Skin cancer patients with nonmelanoma skin cancer who have the highest risk of disease-specific death are squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The aim of this study is to determine the characteristics (age, sex), indications, and doses of lesions and radiotherapy (RT), locoregional control (LRC), relapse-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS) rates in SCCs of the skin patients treated and followed at our clinic. For this purpose, 153 patients treated with RT and followed between 1996, January and 2018, December were included in the study. Of the patients, 95 (62%) were men and 58 (38%) woman. The mean age was 56.4 +/- 13.9 (44-93) years. The primary tumor sites were 132 (86%) head and neck, 12 (8%) extremity and 9 (6%) trunk. The 3-year LRC, RFS, and OS rates were 88% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 82-98), 87% (95% CI: 80-96), and 92% (95% CI: 88-98), respectively. Men gender received significantly worse prognosis than female sex (p = .02). The recurrence-free rate of tumors 2 cm or smaller was significantly lower than tumors larger than 2 cm (p < .001). Cosmetic results were good in 29% of the patients, fair in 50%, and poor in 21%. RT plays an integral role in the treatment of primary and postoperative SCCs.