Pre Cancers
SkinCancerAwareness.com is a website created by Dr. Hendricks to provide more information about skin cancer and available treatments.
Actinic Keratosis (AKs)
Actinic Keratoses (AKs)
CAUSES OF ACTINIC KERATOSES
People who frequently engage in outdoor sports are also at risk of excessive sun exposure. Sun damage, age changes, and Actinic Keratoses can be prevented by the use of sunscreens with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF of 30 or higher). Wearing protective clothing and staying in the shade also decreases your skin cancer risk.
RISK FACTORS FOR PRECANCEROUS ACTINIC KERATOSES
Skin cancer occurs in all races, regardless of their skin color. It is more common in fair-skinned individuals. People who use tanning beds, tanning booths, or sun lamps are also at greater risk of developing skin cancer. See if you or your family have any of these risk factors:
- Fair skin, light-colored hair (blonde, red), and fair eyes (blue, green, hazel, gray)
- Excessive sun exposure
- History of severe sunburns
- Tanning bed, tanning booth, or sun lamp exposure
- Lived or are living in areas of intense sunlight (e.g. Florida, the Caribbean, near the Equator)
- Medications that make you sensitive to sunlight (e.g. doxycycline, hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), naproxen, amiodarone, phenothiazine)
- Underlying diseases that make you sensitive to sunlight (e.g., lupus erythematosus, collagen vascular diseases, porphyria)
- Inherited skin conditions that increase your risk of sun damage (e.g., xeroderma pigmentosum, epidermolysis bullosa, albinism)
- Underlying immune disorders (e.g. AIDS, organ transplant patients, immunosuppressive drugs)
- A family history of Actinic Keratoses or skin cancer
DIAGNOSIS OF PRECANCEROUS ACTINIC KERATOSES
Actinic keratoses usually appear in areas of intense sunlight exposure (e.g. face, ears, nose, lips, scalp, neck, arms, and hands). Actinic Keratoses may vary in size and color. They usually have a pink, scaly appearance. If you rub sun-damaged areas, the skin will often feel rough to the touch.
SUMMARY OF TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR PRECANCERS / ACTINIC KERATOSES
Actinic keratoses are precancerous and should be evaluated during your visit to your doctor’s office. Your dermatologist or medical care professional can help you decide on the best treatment for your Actinic Keratoses:
(1) Cryosurgery for Actinic Keratoses
Cryosurgery is the most common treatment for Actinic Keratoses used by dermatologists and other medical professionals. It has a cure rate of over 90%. Actinic keratoses that do not respond to cryosurgery are usually re-treated with cryosurgery or biopsied to rule out skin cancer.
(2) Chemical Treatment for Actinic Keratoses
A Chemical Treatment for Actinic Keratoses is also regularly used by dermatologists and other health professionals. 5-Fluorouracil 5% cream is often prescribed to treat Actinic Keratoses. The estimated cure rate is 86% or higher. The anti-cancer cream, ointment, or solution is applied according to directions once or twice a day for 2-4 weeks or more while avoiding the eye areas.
(3) Blue or Red-Light Therapy (also known as Photodynamic Therapy or PDT)
Blue or Red-Light Therapy is used when there are more extensive actinic keratoses on the face, neck, trunk, and extremities. This therapy is also called photodynamic Therapy or PDT. Blue or Red-Light Treatments leave the skin smooth, “like a baby’s skin”. Red Light Therapy may go deeper into the skin than Blue Light Therapy. For this reason, Actinic Keratoses treated with Red Light Therapy may take slightly longer to heal than with Blue Light Therapy.
Blue or Red-Light Therapy consists of the application of a special solution or gel to the treatment areas and surrounding skin at your doctor’s office or clinic. The solution or gel gets into the “nooks and crannies” of your skin and makes your skin sensitive to blue and red light.
(4) Electrodessication and Curettage for Actinic Keratoses
A small precancerous growth can be removed under local anesthesia by “burning and scraping”. The growth is treated with electrodessication (“burning”) with the probe of an electrosurgery device to stop bleeding. This is followed by “scraping” with a curette (curettage) to remove superficial skin damage. This may be repeated several times. The cure rate is over 95% for Actinic Keratoses.
If your growth is suspicious for skin cancer, a sample of your curetted skin is sent to a pathology laboratory for processing and examination under a microscope by a pathologist. A pathology report is usually available within 7–14 days. Your dermatologist or trained medical professional will discuss your pathology report with you on your next doctor’s visit. If a skin cancer diagnosis is reported on your pathology report, your treatment options will be discussed with you at the time of your next doctor’s visit.
(5) Laser Resurfacing for Actinic Keratoses
Extensive Actinic Keratoses can be treated with an ablative laser, which removes the top layers of the skin. This is also known as laser resurfacing. A Secret Pro™, Mixto™ laser, Fraxel™ laser, Ultrapulse™, and Erbium-YAG laser are examples of ablative lasers. This type of laser is also employed to tighten your skin, remove unwanted growths, even out your skin color, and smooth surface irregularities. Treatment time will depend on the number of areas that are treated. Ablative lasers have an estimated cure rate of over 90% for Actinic Keratoses.
(6) Chemical Peels for Actinic Keratoses
Alternately, a moderate-to-deep Chemical Peel can be used to improve the skin’s appearance as well as eradicate Actinic Keratoses. A Chemical Peel offers a convenient way to treat Actinic Keratoses on your face and other skin areas. Treatment time is 15–30 minutes or longer, depending on the type of chemical peel and the treatment area. Areas treated with a Chemical Peel become red, swollen, tender, and ooze clear fluid. The cure rate will depend on the type and depth of the chemical peel.