Developments in the Treatment of Actinic Keratosis or precancer
Written by:The specialist in dermatology, Dr. Pablo Umbert explains the advances in the treatment of Actinic Keratosis:
Actinic keratosis is historically known as "pre-cancer" due to its slow evolution into a cutaneous carcinoma. Today we consider it an erroneous term because there are superficial malignant cells that are desquamating and at a certain moment invade in depth, transforming into a carcinoma that must be treated with immediacy.
Its appearance arises in uncovered areas such as the face, back of hands, extremities or neck. They are usually plates of between 1 and 2 centimeters that flake off and apparently disappear and reappear. A white skin is more susceptible to suffer this pathology. The application of moisturizers can be a deceptive treatment causing a concealer improvement .
The way to prevent this chronic condition is with protection at times of exposure to the sun, use hat and well-applied sunscreens. However, with longer longevity we have more risk of them appearing.
The latest novelties that have emerged in the treatment of actinic keratosis are new topical preparations, immuno-modulators and gels that induce the cell death of malignant cells.. There is also the photodynamic treatment with the previous application of a porphyrin in which we selectively eliminate the cancer cells. The procedure we carry out consists of selecting the best methods, individualizing them and adapting to the availability of the patient. The experience of the dermatologist is a determining factor in the treatment of actinic keratosis.
