Cancer of the Skin

Lecture

Skin Cancer
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. Exposure to the sun is the leading cause of skin cancer; incidence is related to the total amount of exposure to the sun. Sundamage is cumulative, and harmful effects may be severe by age 20 years.

TYPES OF SKIN CANCER

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA
BCC is the most common type of skin cancer. It generally appears on sun-exposed areas of the body and is more prevalent in regions where the population is subjected to intense and extensive exposure to the sun. BCC usually begins as a small, waxy nodule with rolled, translucent, pearly borders; telangiectatic vessels may be present. As it grows, it undergoes central ulceration and sometimes crusting

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA

The tumors appear most frequently on the face. BCC is characterized by invasion and erosion of contiguous (adjoining) tissues. It rarely metastasizes, but recurrence is common. Neglected lesion can result in the loss of a nose, an ear,or a lip. BCC may appear as shiny, flat, gray or yellowish plaques.

Basal Cell Carcinoma

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA

The prognosis for BCC is usually good. Tumors remain localized,and although some require wide excision with resultant disfigurement, The risk for death from BCC is low.

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA

MANAGEMENT 1. Mohs Micrographic Surgery technique that is most accurate and that best conserves normal tissue. The procedure removes the tumor layer by layer. The first layer excised includes all evident tumor and a small margin of normalappearing tissue.

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA

Mohssurgery is the recommended tissue-sparing procedure, with cure rates for BCC and SCC approaching 99%. It is the treatment of choice and the most effective for tumors around the eyes, nose,upper lip, and auricular and periauricular areas (Odom et al., 2000). . Th

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA

2. Electrosurgery is the destruction or removal of tissue by electrical energy. The current is converted to heat, which then passes to the tissue from a cold electrode. Electrosurgery may be preceded by curettage (ie, excising the skin tumor by scraping its surface with a curette).

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA

3. Electrodesiccation is then implemented
to achieve hemostasis and to destroy any viable malignant cells at the base of the wound or along its edges. Electrodesiccation is useful for lesions smaller than 1 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.8 in) in diameter 4. Cryosurgery destroys the tumor by deep freezing the tissue. - thermocouple needle apparatus is inserted into the skin, and liquid nitrogen is directed to the center of the tumor until the tumor base is 40C to 60C.

MALIGNANT MELANOMA
is a cancerous neoplasm in which atypical melanocytes (ie, pigment cells) are present in the epidermis and the dermis (and sometimes the subcutaneous cells). It is the most lethal of all the skin cancers and is responsible for about 2% of all cancer deaths (Odom et al., 2000).

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA