Solar Keratosis

1. Solar Keratosis By Tiffany Dinh

2. Check Yourself! Do you have fair skin, blue or green eyes, blond or red hair, spend a lot of time in the sun, or have exposed your skin to indoor tanning? If so, check the next slides to see if you might have solar keratosis.

3. General Description • Typically found on the face, scalp, back of the hands, chest, or other sun-exposed areas. • There are small, rough spots occurring on skin that has been chronically exposed to the sun. • Generally measure in size between 2-6 mm in diameter (between the size of a pencil point and that of an eraser). • May be gray, pink, red, or the same color as the skin with a rough texture and often have a white or yellowish scale on top.

4. Scientific Description • Also known as actinic keratosis, which only affects the superficial layers of the skin (epidermis). • Ultraviolet light damages the bottom layer of skin cells (the basal layer). • This layer of skin is responsible for growth of the surface skin cells. • Damage to the cell structure in the basal layer makes these skin cells grow abnormally, resulting in excessive growth of the cells. • This produces the rough, scaly skin and damage to the cell structure (DNA), increasing the risk of skin cancer.

5. http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=107547http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=107547

6. Symptoms • Crusty, red patches on the skin. • Patches are frequently less than an inch in size with slight scale (sometimes thick like a wart) and a pink, red, or brownish shade. • Tender, red raw areas that persevere for months to years. • Infrequently, you may get an itchy or pricking feeling from affected areas of skin.

7. Causes • Excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation (such as the sun), usually over a long period of time. • Using commercial lamps or tanning beds.

8. Cures • Solaraze Gel • Is a gel that contains a substance called diclofenac, which inhibits the release of prostaglandins in the skin that are thought to play an important role in the development of solar keratosis. Application of the gel can help to clear early solar keratosis. • 5-Fluorouracil Cream • This cream interferes with the growth of abnormal skin cells that cause solar keratosis. • Cryotherapy (Freezing) • The abnormal skin cells that cause solar keratosis may be destroyed by freezing with cold substances such as liquid nitrogen. This treatment is frequently used by dermatologists and is a very effective method for treating all types of actinic keratosis. • Photodynamic Therapy • Involves applying a chemical to the skin called a porphyrin. This is absorbed by the abnormal skin cells that are responsible for producing the actinic keratosis.

9. Worst Case Scenario If Left Untreated • Solar keratoses can transform into squamous cell carcinomas if left untreated, which can metastasize in other organs and to other parts of the body. • Areas with higher, raised lesions—which are more red and firmer than other lesions, are more likely to become cancerous.

10. Fun Facts • In various northern hemisphere populations, 11 – 25% of adults have at least one solar keratosis lesion, compared to 40 – 60% of adult Australians who live closer to the equator. • Men have a higher chance of having solar keratosis because they tend to spend more time in the sun and use less sun protection than women do. • African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and others with darker skin are not as susceptible as Caucasians.

11. Works Cited • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001830/ • http://www.skincancer.org/actinic-keratosis-and-other-precancers.html?gclid=CLLr3uWO0qsCFY1S7AodwhuxVw • http://www.medicinenet.com/actinic_keratosis/article.htm • http://www.hoveskinclinic.co.uk/LesionWebsite/SolarKeratosesHSC.htm • http://solar-keratosis.com/solar-keratosis-symptoms.htm