“Most of the cells on the skin’s surface are flat, scale-like squamous cells. Squamous cell carcinomas are the second most common type of skin cancer, accounting for about 20 percent of all diagnoses. These cancers also are slowing growing, but squamous cell carcinomas can spread to lymph nodes and even internal organs. Research indicates that the metastasis rate of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin is less than 10 percent within two years of diagnosis.

More than 150 years ago, a German scientist named Friedrich Merkel documented what he identified as tastzellen, German for “touch cells.” They would later be named Merkel cells. These cells are found below the epidermis, where they interact with nerve cells and help the skin feel light touch, textures and fine details.

Merkel cell carcinomas may appear as bumps or nodules—often red in color—on sun-exposed skin. This is a rare cancer, but it is often aggressive and may metastasize.  About 2,000 to 3,000 cases of Merkel cell carcinoma are diagnosed in the United States every year, according to the American Cancer Society, and the numbers are on the rise. The disease is rarely diagnosed in patients under 50 years old and is mostly found in white men older than 70.”

Cancer Center/ City of Hope (https://www.cancercenter.com/community/blog/2023/10/skin-cells-merkel-basal-squamous#Q2)