Types of Skin Cancer
Actinic Keratoses – While not a true skin cancer, these are scaly, red bumps that appear in sun exposed areas. About 10% of these will progress to Squamous Cell Cancer and therefore they should be treated with either liquid nitrogen, topical chemotherapy, or photodynamic light therapy (PDT).
Basal Cell Cancer (BCC) – This is the most common type of skin cancer, with over 700,000 cases a year. While this skin cancer rarely metastasizes (travels throughout the body), this tumor can be destructive and result in loss of eyes, ears, and large amounts of skin in cosmetically significant areas, if not treated adequately. Treatment of this tumor should be based on the subtype and the location. The following are the 5 basic subtypes:
- Superficial BCC
- Nodular BCC
- Micronodular BCC
- Basosquamous cell cancer
- Morpheaform BCC ( also called infiltrative or sclerosing)