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Skin Cancer

This section covers all skin cancers except Melanoma. Most common forms of skin cancer are:

1. Basal cell cancers in 60% of cases, and

2. Squamous cell cancers in 30%

Basal cell cancer grows very slowly over many years and may lead to ulceration of the skin. It is called a "rodent ulcer." It is most frequent in persons over age 40. It causes a painless ulcer in the sun-exposed areas of the body which frequently bleeds. Surgery and resecting the lesion completely is the method of curing this problem.

• Mohs surgery refers to a meticulous study of tissues removed by a pathologist at the time of surgery. In this manner, complete excision can be performed with minimal damage to normal skin.

• Cryosurgery refers to freezing the cancerous tissue by using liquid nitrogen. This is most appropriate for very superficial cancers.

• Electrosurgery refers to thermal destruction of the cancers cells.

• Radiation therapy is most appropriate for patients with larger cancers in whom surgery will be difficult and associated with disfigurement.

• Chemotherapy in topical form, using 5-FU cream on the lesion is most appropriate for the elderly who cannot tolerate other forms of treatment.

Prognosis:

Squamous cancer has a tendency to spread to lymph glands, and in rare instances, to other tissues, as opposed to basal cell which almost never metastasizes.