Table 1.
The approved and currently under trials treatment modalities for the cSCC. The Table was modified from Mårten et al. (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41568-023-00583-5)
| Treatment options | Description | Manifestation | Approved | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional Treatment/Therapies | ||||
| Excision | Surgical removal of cancer cells | Localised cSCC | Yes | [122] |
| Mohs | Progressive resection of tissues layers containing cancer cells by minimizing the removal of healthy tissues | Localised cSCC | Yes | |
| Cryotherapy | Freezing and destroying the tumor by applying liquid nitrogen | Superficial; Localised cSCC | Yes | |
| Photodynamic | The initiation of tumor-ablation reaction by applying light source with therapeutics | Localised cSCC | Yes | |
| Radiation | High-energy radiations | Locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic cSCC | Yes | |
| Topical with therapeutics | Application of chemotherapeutics (5-flurouracil or imiquimod) | Superficial; Localised cSCC | Yes | |
| Systemic chemotherapy | Single or combination therapies of different chemotherapeutics such as cisplatin and 5-flurouracil | Locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic cSCC | Yes | |
| Systemic Targeted Therapy | ||||
| Gefitinib | EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor | Locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic cSCC | No | [123] |
| Lapatinib | EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor | Locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic cSCC | No | [124] |
| Erlotinib | EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor | Locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic cSCC | Yes, for NSCLC | [125] |
| Panitumumab | Monoclonal antibody that targets the extracellular domain of EGFR and inhibits it | Locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic cSCC | No | [126] |
| Cetuximab | Monoclonal antibody that competitively inhibits the EGFR | Locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic cSCC | Yes, for HNSCC | [125] |
| Systemic Immunotherapy | ||||
| Cemiplimab | PD1 checkpoint inhibitor | Locally advanced,recurrent, or Metastatic cSCC, not curable with surgery or radiation therapy | Yes | [127] |
| Nivolumab | PD1 checkpoint inhibitor | Locally advanced, recurrent, or Metastatic cSCC, not curable with surgery or radiation therapy | Yes | [125] |
| Pembrolizumab | PD1 checkpoint inhibitor | Locally advanced, recurrent, or Metastatic cSCC, not curable with surgery or radiation therapy | Yes | [128] |
| Ipilimumab | CTLA-4 checkpoint inhibitor | Locally advanced, recurrent, or Metastatic cSCC, not curable with surgery or radiation therapy | yes | [125] |
| Combination therapies | ||||
| Cetuximab + 5FU + Cisplatin |
EGFR inhibitor + Chemotherapeutic agents (Cetuximab + 5FU + Cisplatin) Or 5FU + Cisplatin |
Platinum-resistant metastatic SCC | Yes, for HNSCC | [129] |
| Pembrolizumab + chemotherapy | PD1 checkpoint inhibitor + Chemotherapeutic agents | Metastatic or locally advanced cSCC, | Yes, for HNSCC | [130] |
| Intralesional therapy | ||||
| 5 Fluorouracil | Anti-cancer/cytotoxic effects | Localised, early stage cSCC | No | [131] |
| Methotrexate | Anti-cancer/cytotoxic effects | Localised, early stage cSCC | No | [132] |
Abbreviations: These treatments modalities are currently in clinical use a part of different trials or an approved modality in the United States
cSSC cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, PD1 Program Death 1, EGFR Epidermal growth factor receptor, NSCLC Non-small cell lung cancer, HNSCC Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, CTLA-4 Cytotoxic t-lymphocyte associated protein-4