Skin Cancer

Literature review shows that laser-assisted photodynamic therapy more efficacious than photodynamic therapy alone for actinic keratosis.

The American Academy of Dermatology has updated its guidelines for the care and management of primary cutaneous melanoma. The guidelines, which were released this week, cover the treatment of primary cutaneous melanoma for all age groups.

At the Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference in Las Vegas, one practical talk with a lot of takeaways was a workshop on two types of diagnostic tests for mole genomics.

Topical 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), which is FDA approved for treating actinic keratoses and superficial basal cell carcinoma, shows the strongest evidence of effectiveness for these two conditions plus squamous cell carcinoma, according to a comprehensive systematic review.

Superficial radiation therapy (SRT) targets only skin cancer cells and has few side effects, researchers reported at the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery annual meeting.

Study finds daylight photodynamic therapy with ablative fractional laser more effective than with microdermabrasion for treating actinic keratoses with large area field cancerization.

Prompt management of skin cancer lesions is stressed for pregnant patients in a recent article in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, but whether it’s applied in clinical practice is unknown.

Stage II melanoma patients don’t always benefit from staging PET-CT, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers reporting last week at American Society of Dermatologic Surgery annual meeting in Phoenix.

Patients in outpatient primary care clinics are choosing to learn about genomic testing to detemine their risk of melanoma, according to a recent clinical trial. 

Dermatofibrosarcoma is a common, but unusual locally aggressive cutaneous tumor. Its characteristic tentacle can grow into surrounding fat, muscle and even bone. For dermatologists this means that understanding treatment options is a priority, says a physician reporting from EADV 2018.

Is it just a “spot” or precancerous lesion? Two physicians debate how best to treat actinic keratosis in a talk given at EADV last week.

There are many non-surgical treatments for basal cell carcinomas, but a physician reporting at EADV last week said new treatments should be compared against surgery, which has the highest cure rate and lowest rate of recurrence.

A pregnancy-associated melanoma (PAM) prognosis does not appear to be worse than melanoma in non-pregnant controls, researchers reported at EADV. Nonetheless, measures should be taken to protect the fetus in the treatment and imaging of PAM.

Potential new treatment with targeted monoclonal antibodies offers new hope for cutaneous lymphoma patients.

With immunotherapy as a key treatment for melanoma, dermatologists should be prepared to treat its cutaneous side effects and refer for adrenal sufficiency, uveitis, thyroid disease and other non-cutaneous side effects.

Checkpoint inhibitors have clearly changed the prognosis of melanoma, yet the search for evidence-based answers to these and other questions regarding their use continues, experts report at EADV this week.

It is only recently that continued research has led to significant advances in numerous immune-based drugs that can successfully be used in patients with advanced melanoma (stage III and IV).

Helping a dermatopathologist diagnose neoplasms and infections of the foot requires not only taking adequate samples, but in many cases, sending clinical photographs with them.

As dermatologists become increasingly aware of comorbidities associated with psoriasis, questions of associated malignancy risk remain. Dr. Megan Noe emphasizes the need for skin cancer checks.

In this article, we review the American Academy of Dermatology treatment guidelines for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

Solid organ transplant recipients experience an average of two cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas following their transplant.

People who use indoor tanners may be putting themselves at greater risk for skin cancer because they use low SPF sunscreen.

Combination that extends survival in BRAF-mutant metastatic melanoma gains FDA approval.

Two to three months of neoadjuvant topical imiquimod, 5%, cream prior to conservatively staged excisions for lentigo maligna (LM) is associated with a low rate of recurrence.

Chance of metastasis for cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas of vermillion lip is five times greater than on the cutaneous lip, study shows.

Monitoring changes in patients with melanoma can be tricky. Some changes present slowly and in tiny ways. Using imaging technologies to track these changes can help achieve an accurate diagnosis.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP), dermatofibromas, keloids and hypertrophic scars are four separate conditions requiring assessment, but only one requires a biopsy.

In this review article, Kaivon Sobhani, B.S., and, Eve Lowenstein, M.D., Ph.D., examine fibrotic skin lesions, including the cutaneous tumor dermatofibrosarcoma protuberan (DFSP).

Nearly half of patients at an outpatient primary care clinic elected to learn about genomic testing to assess their risk of melanoma.

The cost of skin cancer treatments continue to increase in the United States where a large proportion of expenditures stem from the cost of systemic agents for melanoma.