Actinic keratosis is a premalignant condition of thick, scaly, or crusty patches of skin. It appears more common in fair-skinned people, especially those who are frequently exposed to the sun, as it is usually accompanied by solar damage. Actinic keratoses may undergo spontaneous remission if sunlight exposure is reduced, but new lesions may appear. Patients often present with lesions that were first noticed during the summer, suggesting that the lesions may become more active after sunlight exposure. Since some of these pre-cancers progress to squamous cell carcinoma, they should be treated.
Signs and Symptoms
- An actinic keratosis site commonly ranges between 2 and 6 millimeters in size.
- The patches can be dark , light, tan, pink, red, or a combination of all these.
- It may appear on the face, ears, neck, scalp, chest, backs of hands, forearms, or lips, where the sun may exposed.
Prevention
- Do not stay in the sun too long without protection.
- Applying sunscreens with 15 SPF ratings or greater to block both UVA and UVB light.
- Wearing sun protective such as hats, long-sleeved shirts, long skirts, or pants.
Treatment
- Cryotherapy: is the treatment of choice by freezing off the actinic keratosis with liquid nitrogen causes the separation of the epidermis and dermis, resulting in a highly specific, nonscarring method of therapy for superficial lesions.
- Laser: is the treatment method using Laser resurfacing technique to diffuse actinic keratosis.
- Electrocautery: by using electricity to burn off actinic keratosis.
- Immunotherapy: is the topical treatment with imiquimod, an immune enhancing agent.
- Chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil : by using a cream that contains the medication causes actinic keratosis to become red and inflamed before they fall off.
- Photodynamic therapy: one of a new treatment involves injecting a chemical into the bloodstream, which makes actinic keratosis more sensitive to any form of light.
