Large breed dogs and black colored dogs are more likely to be affected by these tumors. Over time it will grow, the tissue within the mass will die (necrotize), and the tumor will ulcerate. The SCC does not retain its appearance as a solid mass. The tumor may appear as a small nodule, a reddish colored skin plaque, or as a papule – small and blister like in appearance, but differentiated by its lack of fluid. In dogs, squamous cell carcinomas usually affect only one toe. It commonly affects the bone and tissue around it, spreading slowly enough that it can be caught before it is able to spread to other areas of the body.
These scale like tissue cells are called the squamous.Ĭarcinoma is, by definition, an especially malignant and persistent form of cancer, often returning after is has been excised from the body and metastasizing to other organs and locations on the body.Ī squamous cell carcinoma usually comes from the skin around the nail. A squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) can be described as a malignant and particularly invasive tumor that takes hold in the scale like cells of the epithelium – the tissue that covers the body or lines the cavities of the body. The most common type of type of tumor to affect the toes is a squamous cell carcinoma. Dogs can be afflicted with several types of skin tumors, even on their feet and toes.