Kalmar "squamous cell" tana nufin wani nau'in tantanin halitta wanda yake da lebur da sikeli a zahiri. "Squamous" ya fito daga kalmar Latin "squama," ma'ana sikeli. Ana samun sel squamous a cikin kyallen takarda daban-daban a ko'ina cikin jiki, gami da fata, sassan numfashi, da rufin wasu gabobin. Squamous cell carcinoma wani nau'in ciwon daji ne da ke fitowa daga sel masu tsumma, yawanci a cikin fata ko kuma layin numfashi ko na narkewar abinci.