Actinic Keratosis is a type of precancer that can cause visible lesions on skin. If you have Actinic Keratosis, then you have sustained sun damage and could potentially develop skin cancer.
The plural form of "actinic keratosis" is "actinic keratoses".
The main risk of actinic keratosis is of skin cancer. This mainly has to do with the fact that actinic keratosis is caused by sun damage to skin, as is most skin cancer.
Actinic keratosis is a small, raised area on one's skin that has usually been exposed to the sun for a fairly long time. Actinic keratosis can lead to a type of skin cancer, usually prevalent in older people.
Up to 2 million people a year are treated for actinic keratosis. This treatment is required because the condition refers to precancerous spots on the skin.
Squamous cell carcinoma in-situ arising hypertrophic actinic keratosis with associated cutansous horn is a skin cancer.
Actinic keratosis
An actinic keratosis is a small, rough spot on the skin. It is usually reddish with a white or yellow scab on top and measuring about 2-6 millimeters in diameter. It most often occurs in people who have been exposed to the sun a lot.
Pre-cancerous skin lesions, actinic keratosis, should be treated by a doctor. Options include freezing or burning it off, or the application of topical creams that will cause it to fall off. Follow up visits to check for recurrence are a good idea.
Dysplasia is the medical term meaning precancerous lesionscervical dysplasia
Although there is no cure for actinic keratosis per say, there are a couple treatment options that can effectively minimize the symptoms:Cryosurgery - uses liquid nitrogen to freeze off the lesions. It is fast, has a high cure rate, and is well-tolerated by most people. There may be a very high brief period of stinging when the liquid nitrogen is first applied, but anesthesia is not required.Shave removal - a procedure during which a scalpel is used to remove the lesion and obtain a specimen for testing.Curettage - often used to remove hard, thickened actinic keratoses. In this procedure, a small, round, sharp instrument (called a curette) is used to scrape the actinic keratosis, either removing a piece of it for biopsy or removing the entire lesion.Lasers - deliver an intense light focused on the lesion, removing it along with the top layer of skin. The finely controlled nature of laser removal makes this a useful option for actinic keratoses on delicate skin, such as the lips (actinic chelitis), or in narrow, hard-to-reach places (such as behind the ears).Photodynamic therapy - involves an agent applied to the skin that makes the skin sensitive to light (usually applied by injection or topically). An intense light is then point in the area and the laser light destroys the damaged skin cells.Retinoids - is an oral drug (isotretinoin) is very effective in treating actinic keratosis. However it is only recommended in high risk cases because it has significantly high risk side effects.Creams and Ointments - destroy actinic keratosis cells by blocking essential reactions within them. Creams can be used as an actinic keratosis natural therapy for they support the skin's immune system and stimulate the body's own natural rejection of these precancerous cells.
I just had a lichenoid keratosis removed by a plastic surgeon. My dematologist said it looked like a squamous cell carcinoma, which I have had on the same leg. For that reason alone, I had it removed. It came back as benign, however, I have been reading that a lichenoid keratosis is like a pre-cancerous actinic keratosis, which can turn into cancer. I am happy it is gone.