Objectives: This study investigated the early progression patterns of lung squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) on computed tomography (CT) images., Materials and Methods: In total, 65 patients with SqCC who underwent surgical resection and two CT scans separated by an interval of at least 6 months were enrolled. We categorized the findings of the initial and at-diagnosis CT images into five patterns as previously reported. The volume doubling time (VDT) was calculated for measurable lesions., Results: A single nodule pattern on CT images at-diagnosis was most common in 56 (86.2 %) patients, in line with practical clinical findings. However, the patterns were diverse in the initial images, with 28 (43.1 %) patients displaying atypical findings, including multiple nodules (3.1 %), endobronchial lesions (20.0 %), subsolid nodules (10.8 %), and cyst wall thickening (9.2 %). All endobronchial lesions were located in the central/middle zone of the lung field, whereas lesions presented as multiple nodules, subsolid nodules, and cyst wall thickening were predominantly observed in the peripheral zone. The differences in the developed zones were reflected in the median VDT, and the tumors with an initial endobronchial pattern had a significantly shorter VDT than those with a subsolid nodule pattern (median: 140 days vs 276 days, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Lung SqCC initiated with various CT image patterns, although most tumors ultimately developed a single nodule pattern by diagnosis. The initial CT image patterns differed between the hilar and peripheral zones, suggesting a difference in the progression scheme, which was also supported by differences in VDT., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Dr. Kusumoto reports contracted studies with Canon Medical Systems; honoraria for lectures from AstraZeneca K.K., Daiichi-Sankyo Inc., Daiichi-Sankyo Co., ltd., outside the submitted work. Dr. Yatabe reports contracted studies with ArcherDx, Chugai-pharma, Thermo Fisher Science, and Konika Minolta, honoraria for lectures and/or advisory board from AbbVie Inc., Amgen, Bayer, Ono-Pharma, Daiichi-Sankyo, Elli-Lily, Merck Bio-Pharma, Pfizer, MSD, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Agilent/Dako, ArcherDx, Sysmex, Chugai-pharma, Boehringer Ingelheim, Yansen-Pharma, Roche/Ventana, Thermo Fisher Science, and Takeda; participation on the advisory board of MSD; Chugai-pharma; AstraZeneca, Novartis, Amgen, Takeda, and Daiichi-Sankyo, outside the submitted work. Other authors have nothing to disclose., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)