We provide actinic keratosis treatment and care here at Vujevich Dermatology Associates.
What is actinic keratosis?
Actinic keratosis is a common precancerous growth treated by dermatologists. Actinic keratosis is also known as solar keratosis because this growth is caused by the sun or indoor tanning. Because actinic keratoses appear where the sun most often hits the skin, they often form on the ears, face, scalp, neck, hands, or lips. When an actinic keratosis forms on the lips, it’s medically diagnosed as actinic cheilitis.
Some people are more likely to have actinic keratosis growths. This includes people:
- with fair skin
- who have chronic sun exposure without protection
- aged 50 years or over
- who use tanning beds
- who have received an organ transplant
- who have xeroderma pigmentosum, Rothmund-Thomson syndrome, or Bloom syndrome
While most people who develop actinic keratoses are 50 or older, your lifestyle and environment can cause actinic keratoses to form at any age.
Is actinic keratosis cancerous?
Actinic keratosis is not cancerous, but it is precancerous. So, it’s important to know the signs and symptoms to identify this growth in its early stages. If you have had an actinic keratosis before, you are more likely to develop them throughout the rest of your life. Additional actinic keratoses increase your chances of developing skin cancer as actinic keratoses can develop into squamous cell carcinoma. Only 5-10% of actinic keratoses develop into squamous cell carcinoma, but the majority of squamous cell carcinomas start off as actinic keratoses.
Actinic keratosis signs and symptoms
Actinic keratosis is the most common form of precancerous growths and is caused by chronic exposure to ultraviolet rays from both natural sunlight and tanning beds. Actinic keratosis can start off in many different forms, so it’s important to schedule a routine skin cancer screening to keep an eye on skin growths. It can also be hard to determine whether a skin growth is an actinic keratosis vs seborrheic keratosis. These signs and symptoms can help you tell the difference and obtain the appropriate dermatological care.
You can often feel actinic keratoses before you can see the growth as it commonly starts as a rough patch of skin, often compared to feeling like sandpaper, that can be red, pink, gray, or skin-colored. It can also form as one or more rough, scaly bumps that are often mistaken for acne.
Some forms of actinic keratosis can also be mistaken for age spots. This is often more commonly misdiagnosed on people with darker skin tones. Dry, scaly lips that do not heal but quickly become scaly again, can be a sign of actinic keratosis. If your lip color changes color and becomes skin-toned, this can also be a sign of actinic keratosis. If you have a horn-like growth on your skin, this is a form of actinic keratosis that is at higher risk of developing into squamous cell carcinoma.
Actinic keratosis is often characterized by changes to the skin, but the growth can itch, burn, bleed, or feel tender or painful to the touch. These growths can vary in size from a small growth to growths over one inch in size.
Actinic keratosis treatment
It’s important to treat actinic keratosis to not only help prevent skin cancer, but to also help ease symptoms, such as itching or burning. There are many different actinic keratosis treatment options available, including surgical procedures, topical treatments, photodynamic therapy, and combinations of these therapies. Your dermatologist will help you determine the best course of treatment based on how many actinic keratoses you have, what they look like, where they are located, and more.
Surgical procedures to remove actinic keratosis are often used when there are one or two lesions. Surgical options for actinic keratosis treatment include chemical peels, cryosurgery, curettage and desiccation, and laser surgery. Cryosurgery is used to freeze the affected skin cells off, allowing new skin cells to grow in their place. Curettage is used to remove the affected skin cells and then desiccation is used to remove any remaining precancerous cells while also stopping the bleeding. At Vujevich Dermatology Associates, many of these procedures take place in our state-of-the-art Mohs Surgery Center.
Topical treatments include topical creams, gels, and solutions that are often used when there are multiple skin growths in different areas to treat. Topical treatments have minimal risk of scarring. Approved medications for topical actinic keratosis treatment include: 5-fluorouracil, diclofenac and hyaluronic acid, imiquimod, and tirbanibulin.
Photodynamic therapy for sun damage is another common actinic keratosis treatment method. Photodynamic therapy targets pre-cancerous skin growths using a photosensitizing drug and light therapy to prevent these growths from progressing into skin cancer. It is most commonly used on growths that occur on the face and scalp.
What happens if actinic keratosis is left untreated?
If actinic keratosis is left untreated, it can develop into squamous cell carcinoma, which is a common and sometimes invasive form of skin cancer.
Can I prevent actinic keratosis?
Yes, there are many things you can do to help prevent actinic keratosis. The main preventive measure to take is wearing sunscreen every day and reapplying it every two hours. Give your skin added protection by wearing protective clothing, such as hats and gloves, when possible. It’s also important to schedule regular cancer screenings, in addition to your monthly at-home screenings, to monitor skin growths, especially in those hard to see areas such as your back and scalp.
Vujevich Dermatology Associates offers many types of actinic keratosis treatment. Contact us today to schedule an appointment with one of our expert board-certified dermatologists to help prevent or treat your actinic keratosis.