Condition

Non-melanoma skin cancer (squamous-cell carcinoma)

Clinical trials and treatment information for Non-melanoma skin cancer (squamous-cell carcinoma)

2.3M
People Affected
200
Active Trials
683K
New Cases/Year
57K
Deaths/Year

Treatment Rankings

Ranked by evidence volume first. Medicine has spent centuries ranking things by vibes. This is an improvement.

1
Mohs Micrographic Surgery
98% Effectiveness• 95% Confidence• 75% Safety• 4 trials• 150K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent Value
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

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75
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

immediate

Duration

Single procedure

Response Rate

98%

Remission Rate

98%

Common Side Effects:

Pain: 30%
Swelling/Bruising: 40%
Infection: 3%
Scarring: 100%
Nerve damage (temporary/permanent): 2%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$0

Monitoring

$400

Side Effects

$100

Total Annual

$3,500

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

1

ICER

$30,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$3,571

Cost per Responder

$3,571

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
5-year Local Recurrence Rate8% (for high-risk SCC treated with conventional excision)
-75% (-6 percentage points)
Immediate Histologic Clearance Rate (after final Mohs stage)90% (for single conventional excision of SCC)
+11.1% (+10 percentage points)
Patient-Reported Cosmetic Outcome (VAS scale 0-100)70/100 (for conventional wide local excision)
+28.6% (+20 points)
Secondary Benefits
Post-operative Pain (VAS scale 0-10)6/10 (for larger conventional excisions)
-50% (-3 points)
Functional Impairment (e.g., related to eye, nose, mouth; scale 0-100, 0=no impairment)25/100 (for conventional excision in sensitive areas)
-60% (-15 points)
Time to Complete Wound Healing28 days (for conventional excision requiring secondary intention or complex repair)
-25% (-7 days)
Common Side Effects
Pain
+30%
Swelling/Bruising
+40%
Infection
+3%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
2
Surgical Excision
92% Effectiveness• 95% Confidence• 72% Safety• 7 trials• 100K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent Value
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

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72
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

immediate

Duration

Single procedure

Response Rate

92%

Remission Rate

92%

Common Side Effects:

Pain: 30%
Swelling/Bruising: 40%
Infection: 4%
Scarring: 100%
Nerve damage: 3%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$0

Monitoring

$400

Side Effects

$100

Total Annual

$2,500

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.9

ICER

$25,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$2,717

Cost per Responder

$2,717

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
5-Year Local Recurrence Rate15%
-80% (-12%)
Risk of Positive Surgical Margins20%
-75% (-15%)
5-Year Regional/Distant Metastasis Rate8%
-87.5% (-7%)
5-Year Overall Survival Rate70%
+31.4% (+22%)
Secondary Benefits
Skin Cancer-Specific Quality of Life (Symptoms subscale)Skindex-29 (Symptoms): 40/100
-75% (-30 points)
Functional Impairment (due to lesion location)Functional Impairment Scale: 7/10
-71.4% (-5 points)
Pain/Discomfort Level (NRS)NRS Pain Scale: 5/10
-90% (-4.5 points)
Common Side Effects
Pain
+30%
Swelling/Bruising
+40%
Infection
+4%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
3
Radiation Therapy
90% Effectiveness• 90% Confidence• 25% Safety• 30 trials• 50K participants
HIGH EvidenceGood ValueDose: 60-70 Gy in 30-35 fractions
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

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25
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

4-8 weeks

Duration

3-7 weeks

Response Rate

92%

Remission Rate

92%

Common Side Effects:

Skin redness/irritation (radiation dermatitis): 90%
Fatigue: 60%
Pain/soreness: 40%
Hair loss (in treated area): 100%
Ulceration: 7%
Long-term scarring/pigment changes: 60%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$0

Monitoring

$500

Side Effects

$300

Total Annual

$15,800

Cost-Effectiveness

GOOD

QALYs Gained

0.8

ICER

$50,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$17,174

Cost per Responder

$17,174

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Complete Clinical Clearance of Lesion100% tumor presence
-98% (Reduction to 2% or less residual tumor (near-complete to complete resolution))
5-Year Local Recurrence Rate30% (for comparable high-risk lesions if suboptimally treated)
-83.3% (-25 percentage points (reducing from 30% to 5%))
Patient-Reported Aesthetic Outcome Score (0-10, higher is better)3/10 (due to tumor disfigurement prior to treatment)
+100% (+3 points (on a 0-10 scale, improving from poor to good))
Secondary Benefits
Functional Impairment Score (0-4, higher score means more impairment)2/4 (moderate impairment due to tumor location)
-50% (-1 point (on a 0-4 impairment scale))
Pain Intensity Score (NRS, 0-10)7/10 (moderate to severe pain)
-71.4% (-5 points (on a 0-10 NRS scale))
Patient Satisfaction Score (0-10, higher is better)5/10 (due to anxiety about cancer/treatment options)
+40% (+2 points (on a 0-10 scale))
Common Side Effects
Skin redness/irritation (radiation dermatitis)
+90%
Fatigue
+60%
Pain/soreness
+40%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
4
Cemiplimab
88% Effectiveness• 90% Confidence• 40% Safety• 7 trials• 2K participants
HIGH EvidencePoor ValueDose: 350 mg IV every 3 weeks
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

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40
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

2-4 months

Duration

Months to years

Response Rate

45%

Remission Rate

18%

Common Side Effects:

Fatigue: 40%
Musculoskeletal pain: 30%
Rash: 25%
Diarrhea: 20%
Immune-related adverse events: 10%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$153,000

Monitoring

$3,000

Side Effects

$7,000

Total Annual

$163,000

Cost-Effectiveness

POOR

QALYs Gained

1.5

ICER

$200,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$905,556

Cost per Responder

$362,222

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Objective Response Rate (ORR)ORR for advanced CSCC with conventional chemotherapy: 5%
+880% (+44 percentage points)
Complete Response (CR) RateCR rate for advanced CSCC with conventional chemotherapy: 0.5%
+3300% (+16.5 percentage points)
Median Progression-Free Survival (PFS)Median PFS for advanced CSCC with conventional chemotherapy: 3 months
+500% (+15 months)
Median Overall Survival (OS)Median OS for advanced CSCC with conventional chemotherapy: 7 months
+328.57% (+23 months)
Secondary Benefits
Global Health Status/QoL (EORTC QLQ-C30)Average baseline score: 60/100
+16.67% (+10 points)
Pain Intensity (NRS Scale 0-10)Average baseline pain score: 6/10
-33.33% (-2 points)
ECOG Performance Status ScoreAverage baseline score: 2/5
-25% (-0.5 points)
Common Side Effects
Fatigue
+40%
Musculoskeletal pain
+30%
Rash
+25%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 3Phase 4
5
5-Fluorouracil (topical)
85% Effectiveness• 88% Confidence• 60% Safety• 2 trials• 30K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: 5% cream, twice daily
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

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60
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

2-4 weeks

Duration

2-4 weeks

Response Rate

85%

Remission Rate

85%

Common Side Effects:

Erythema (redness): 95%
Crusting/erosion: 80%
Pain/burning/soreness: 80%
Edema (swelling): 60%
Pruritus (itching): 60%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$100

Monitoring

$200

Side Effects

$50

Total Annual

$350

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.7

ICER

$20,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$412

Cost per Responder

$412

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Complete Clinical Clearance Rate of Superficial Squamous Cell Carcinoma (sSCC) Lesions0% of lesions cleared
+85% (85% of treated lesions achieved complete clinical clearance)
Histological Clearance Rate of Superficial Squamous Cell Carcinoma (sSCC) Lesions0% of lesions cleared histologically
+75% (75% of treated lesions achieved complete histological clearance)
Reduction in New Actinic Keratosis (AK) LesionsAverage of 10 new AK lesions/year (in high-risk patients)
-70% (-7 new lesions/year)
Reduction in Lesion Recurrence Rate (12-month period)Expected recurrence rate without treatment: 25% within 12 months
-60% (-15 percentage points reduction (e.g., from 25% to 10%))
Secondary Benefits
Patient-Reported Skin Appearance Score (VAS 0-10)5/10 (indicating moderate damage/lesions)
+40% (+2 points (e.g., from 5 to 7))
Reduction in Localized Pain/Discomfort from Lesions (VAS 0-10)3/10 (mild to moderate discomfort)
-67% (-2 points (e.g., from 3 to 1))
Reduction in Future Surgical Interventions for Skin CancerAverage of 0.5 surgical excisions/year (for high-risk patients)
-60% (-0.3 excisions/year)
Common Side Effects
Erythema (redness)
+95%
Crusting/erosion
+80%
Pain/burning/soreness
+80%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
6
Photodynamic Therapy (PDT)
85% Effectiveness• 88% Confidence• 65% Safety• 6 trials• 25K participants
HIGH EvidenceGood ValueDose: ALA/MAL cream 1-3h + light exposure
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

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65
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 weeks

Duration

1-2 sessions, 1-3 hours each

Response Rate

85%

Remission Rate

85%

Common Side Effects:

Pain/burning (during treatment): 95%
Erythema/swelling: 85%
Crusting/scabbing: 60%
Photosensitivity: 100%
Hyperpigmentation/hypopigmentation: 15%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$0

Monitoring

$200

Side Effects

$50

Total Annual

$1,750

Cost-Effectiveness

GOOD

QALYs Gained

0.7

ICER

$40,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$2,059

Cost per Responder

$2,059

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Probability of Lesion Persistence (at 3 months post-PDT)100% (prior to treatment)
-90% (-90% (from 100% to 10%))
12-Month Disease-Free Survival (DFS) Rate0% (before successful treatment or for untreated lesions)
+85% (+85% (from 0% to 85%))
Cosmetic Outcome Score (on a 0-10 scale, 0=excellent, 10=poor)6/10 (moderate, reflecting pre-treatment lesion appearance or expected scar from alternative treatments)
-50% (-3.0 points)
Secondary Benefits
Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) Score (0-30, 0=no impact, 30=maximum impact)15/30 (moderate impact on quality of life due to skin condition)
-60% (-9 points)
Lesion-Related Discomfort Score (0-10, 0=no discomfort, 10=worst)4/10 (moderate discomfort from lesion, e.g., itching, tenderness, bleeding)
-75% (-3 points)
Patient Treatment Satisfaction Score (0-10, 0=least satisfied, 10=most satisfied)2/10 (low satisfaction, reflecting initial apprehension or dissatisfaction with previous treatments)
+250% (+5 points (e.g., from 2 to 7))
Common Side Effects
Pain/burning (during treatment)
+95%
Erythema/swelling
+85%
Crusting/scabbing
+60%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4