Squamous cell carcinoma. A population-based incidence study in Rochester, Minn.

The records linkage resources of the Rochester Epidemiology Program Project were used to identify 169 incident cases of invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the skin in the population of Rochester, Minn, between 1976 and 1984. The overall age-standardized incidence was 38.8/100,000 persons (63.1 in men; 22.5 in women). Metastasis occurred in 3.6%, and during an average of 3.8 years of follow-up, recurrence was seen in 3.6% while subsequent new lesions occurred in 12%. The demographics and course of patients with squamous cell carcinoma were different from either those of Bowen's disease or basal cell carcinoma in these population-based data.