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Skin Cancer & Treatment Options
Skin cancers are the most common occurring cancers accounting for nearly half of all cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. More than 1 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancers occur every year and approximately 62,480 new cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in 2008.
Risk Factors
Certain practices increase the risk of developing cancer. Risk factors include:
- Prolonged exposure to UV radiation, especially sunlight
- Fair skin, freckling, light hair
- Male gender (probably due to increased sun exposure)
- Chemical exposure (especially arsenic)
- Previous radiation treatment
- Prior skin cancer
- Large moles, atypical moles (dysplastic nevi) increase the risk for melanoma
- Family history of melanoma
Diagnosis
- If your doctor is suspicious that an area on your skin may be a cancer, a small amount of tissue may be removed from this area (biopsy) and examined under a microscope to make a diagnosis. In certain situations, your doctor may also perform a biopsy of nearby lymph nodes to determine if cancer has spread.
- If you have a diagnosis of malignant melanoma, additional tests may be recommended to determine if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. These may include chest X-ray, CT scan, MRI and/or PET scan.
Types of Skin Cancer
There are several types of skin cancer with different responses to treatment. Among them are:
- Basal cell cancer: usually occurring on sun-exposed areas and frequently seen, in the elderly, but are increasingly found in younger individuals. These cancers which begin in the outer layers of the skin, account for approximately 75% of all skin cancers. This type of cancer rarely spreads to other parts of the body, but can be locally destructive if left untreated.
- Squamous cell cancer: commonly appears on sun-exposed areas of skin and accounts for approximately 20% of all skin cancers. This cancer type also develops in outer layers of the skin. They tend to be more aggressive and may spread under the skin to lymph nodes and to other parts of the body.
- Malignant Melanoma: a less common skin cancer begins in the skin cells called melanocytes which give skin its brown coloring. This cancer is also related to sun exposure but can be found anywhere on the skin. Although less common than other types of skin cancer, it can be more dangerous. Melanoma accounts for approximately 4% of all skin cancers, but causes a majority of the deaths related to skin cancer.
- Other less common types include Kaposi's sarcoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, cutaneous lymphoma, and adenoid cystic carcinoma.
Treatment
The treatment recommendations will depend on the type, location and size of the cancer and whether it has spread to other parts of your body. A combination of treatments is often required. Among the treatment options are:
Surgery
Cancer cells are cut out and removed. Alternative treatments by cryosurgery (freezing the cancer, then removing) or laser surgery (cancer removal by laser beams) may also be appropriate.
Chemotherapy
Depending on the type and stage of the cancer anticancer drugs or an anticancer cream applied to the skin to kill cancer cells may be recommended.
Biologic Therapy
The injection of specific medications designed to help your immune system better fight the cancer. This treatment is usually used to treat malignant melanoma.
Radiation Therapy
This is the treatment of choice when the lesion appears on a part of the face that would likely become deformed if surgery were to be used. Examples include the eye, lids, ears, nose or lip. There are several methods by which the radiation therapy treatments can be given: External beam radiation or Orthovoltage.
- External beam radiation therapy involves a series of painless, daily (Monday through Friday) outpatient treatments delivered over several weeks. It works by focusing a beam of ionizing radiation to the tumor while sparing the surrounding tissue.
- Orthovoltage X-rays or electrons are the techniques used for most superficial skin cancers. These forms of treatments penetrate only a short distance below the skin surface.
Treatment Side Effects
Side effects of superficial radiation are restricted to the skin. The area being treated becomes red, dry, itchy and irritated (similar to sunburn). Temporary hair loss in the treatment area may also occur.
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