squamous cell carcinoma

noun

: a carcinoma that is made up of or arises from squamous cells and usually occurs in areas of the body exposed to strong sunlight over many years

Examples of squamous cell carcinoma in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The other common type of non-melanoma skin cancer is squamous cell carcinoma. Angus Chen and Rachel Cohrs, STAT, 3 Mar. 2023 While most people are familiar with squamous cell carcinoma as a skin cancer, Corbin's Dr. Jonathan Jelmini says this is an entirely different beast. Susan Young, Peoplemag, 9 Nov. 2022 The cause was squamous cell carcinoma, a rare form of cancer, her brother Gustavo Gatti said. Washington Post Staff, Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2022 Carlson, 67, was diagnosed with stage four metastatic squamous cell carcinoma in October 2021. Matt Porter, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Oct. 2022 See All Example Sentences for squamous cell carcinoma

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of squamous cell carcinoma was in 1907

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Cite this Entry

“Squamous cell carcinoma.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squamous%20cell%20carcinoma. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

Medical Definition

squamous cell carcinoma

noun
variants or squamous-cell carcinoma
: a carcinoma that is made up of or arises from squamous cells and usually occurs in areas of the body exposed to strong sunlight over a period of many years
More often than not, skin cancers turn out to be basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma; both are "nonmelanomas" and are usually not fatal.Claudia Kalb, Newsweek
More than 90 percent of esophageal cancers are either squamous-cell carcinomas or adenocarcinomas.Peter C. Enzinger and Robert J. Mayer, The New England Journal of Medicine

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