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Understanding Your Treatment Options for Actinic Keratosis

Ali Hendi, MD Blog Understanding Your Treatment Options for Actinic Keratosis
Understanding Your Treatment Options for Actinic Keratosis

If you have a rough patch on an area of your skin that’s gotten plentiful sun exposure, you could be dealing with actinic keratosis. In the United States, about one in five adults develops this condition at some point. 

While actinic keratosis isn’t malignant, it can lead to cancer if it goes untreated. And once you’re diagnosed, understanding your treatment options is important.

Our dermatological experts at Ali Hendi, MD, serving the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia areas, provide advanced and effective care for precancerous skin lesions.

Let’s explore actinic keratosis, including several treatment options to consider.

Actinic keratosis signs and risk factors

Actinic keratosis usually shows up on your ears, lips, face, neck, scalp, or the backs of your hands. You may have one or numerous growths. 

Each one may look like a pimple or rough skin patch, with colors ranging from red, pink, or yellow, to brown, white, or gray. They may bleed, sting, itch, or feel tender to the touch. Depending on the location, actinic keratosis may catch on your clothing. 

While anyone can develop actinic keratosis, your odds are heightened if you’re male, over 50, fair-skinned, or have a history of unprotected sun exposure. A weak immune system or a history of skin cancer also raises your risk.

What happens if you don’t treat actinic keratosis

Left untreated, about 5-10% of actinic keratoses turn into squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). When that happens, your symptoms become more pronounced, appearing like red, scaly patches, wart-like bumps, or open sores.

While SCC is often curable with early detection, the treatment can be more invasive. Dr. Hendi may suggest Mohs surgery, which meticulously removes cancerous cells layer by layer. Without early intervention, SCC can spread to other body areas and require more intense care.

Once you’ve had SCC, regardless of the stage at diagnosis, your risk for additional skin cancers climbs higher. Squamous cell recurrence is also common, especially within two years of your first bout.

Actinic keratosis treatments

Thankfully, actinic keratosis is quite treatable. Depending on the specifics of your condition, our team may recommend:

Topical creams are often ideal if you have multiple actinic keratoses. In addition to treating visible growths, they do away with precancerous cells that haven’t yet become visible. Freezing and laser therapies may require more than one session.

Moving forward, you’ll likely benefit from skin cancer surveillance. These routine visual scans check for signs of precancerous and cancerous cells on even your hardest-to-see body areas. 

To learn more about actinic keratosis treatment or to get started, call 301-812-4591 or book an appointment online with Dr. Hendi and Dr. Dong today.

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