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Review
. 2015 Dec 31;9(4):89-97.
doi: 10.3315/jdcr.2015.1221.

Non-invasive diagnostic techniques in the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma

Olga Warszawik-Hendzel  1 , Małgorzata Olszewska  1 , Małgorzata Maj  1 , Adriana Rakowska  1 , Joanna Czuwara  1 , Lidia Rudnicka  2
Affiliations
Review

Non-invasive diagnostic techniques in the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma

Olga Warszawik-Hendzel et al. J Dermatol Case Rep. .

Abstract

Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common cutaneous malignancy after basal cell carcinoma. Although the gold standard of diagnosis for squamous cell carcinoma is biopsy followed by histopathology evaluation, optical non-invasive diagnostic tools have obtained increased attention. Dermoscopy has become one of the basic diagnostic methods in clinical practice. The most common dermoscopic features of squamous cell carcinoma include clustered vascular pattern, glomerular vessels and hyperkeratosis. Under reflectance confocal microscopy, squamous cell carcinoma shows an atypical honeycomb or disarranged pattern of the spinous-granular layer of the epidermis, round nucleated bright cells in the epidermis and round vessels in the dermis. High frequency ultrasound and optical coherence tomography may be helpful in predominantly in pre-surgical evaluation of tumor size. Emerging non-invasive or minimal invasive techniques with possible application in the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, lip, oral mucosa, vulva or other tissues include high-definition optical coherence tomography, in vivo multiphoton tomography, direct oral microscopy, electrical impedance spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, elastic scattering spectroscopy, differential path-length spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and angle-resolved low coherence interferometry.

Keywords: RCM; actinic keratosis; dermoscopy; diagnosis; oral mucous membrane; skin cancer; spectroscopy; squamous cell carcinoma; ultrasonography; vulva.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Videodermoscopy of squamous cell carcinoma in situ. 70-fold magnification. (A) SCC in situ with small dotted vessels distributed in packed clusters; (B) SCC in situ with glomerular vessels; (C) SCC in situ with white circles; (D) SCC in situ with dotted and glomerular vessels, and hyperkeratosis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Reflectance confocal microscopy of squamous cell carcinoma. (A) SCC with a disarranged pattern of the spinous-granular layer of the epidermis and round cell with a bright center and a dark peripheral halo (yellow circle); (B) SCC with an atypical honeycomb and round cell with a dark center and a bright rim surrounded by a dark halo (red circle); (C) SCC with an atypical honeycomb and round cell with a bright center and a dark peripheral halo (yellow circle); (D) SCC with round blood vessels in the dermis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Ultrasound scan of squamous cell carcinoma: hypoechogenic lesion with irregular, but quiet well defined border.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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