Actinic Keratoses

Actinic keratoses are the most common lesions treated in the dermatologist’s office. The lesions are rough, pink spots that occur primarily on the face, scalp, forearms, and hands. These are the areas with the most sun exposure over an individual’s lifetime. The lesions are important because they can transform into squamous cell skin cancer. It is important to treat the actinic keratoses so that the risk for developing squamous cell cancer is diminished. Mutiple treatments are used to treat the lesions, including liquid nitrogen destruction, topical chemotherapy agents, and photodynamic light therapy.