Pre-Cancerous Cells

Actinic Keratosis or Pre-Cancerous Lesions

A number of procedures are available to treat actinic keratosis or precancerous lesions; click on the links below to learn more

Fractional Laser Resurfacing
Laser Treatments
Photodynamic Therapy

Blue Light
Portrait^® Plasma Skin Resurfacing (PSR)

Actinic keratosis are precancerous lesions that appear as subtle, rough spots on sun-exposed skin. They commonly occur in people with fair complexions age 50 and over. Today, we are seeing many patients in their 30s with these precancerous lesions. If left untreated, up to 10% may become squamous cell skin cancers. Actinic keratoses are one of the most common conditions that dermatologists treat, using liquid nitrogen to spot-treat specific lesions. A more global approach is to treat the entire face or scalp by topically applying topical 5-fluorouracil (Carac^®) or imiquimod (Aldara^®), or with Blue U light and topically applied Levulan^® (photodynamic therapy).