Treatment of Skin Cancer

Treatment of skin cancer varies depending on several factors including the type of skin cancer, the size and location of the tumor and the stage of the cancer at the time of diagnosis (how far it has spread into deeper parts of the body or to distant sites in the body).

Surgery
The most common forms of skin cancer treatment are various surgical procedures. In essence, the tumor tissue is removed surgically, by cutting out or otherwise destroying the tissue containing the tumor. This can be accomplished in various ways. For example, Mohs surgery uses a staged removal of sequentially deeper tissue until all the tumor is removed. Excisional surgery simply cuts around the area and removes that segment of skin completely. Other techniques commonly used include electrodesiccation, cryosurgery (freezing the tissue), laser surgery and dermabrasion.

The choice of which surgical procedure to use as treatment of skin cancer depends on the type of tumor, its size and the depth of its invasion. Very large or deeply invasive tumors may require additional surgical procedures to help close the wound or reconstruct the tissue both functionally and cosmetically.

Other Treatments
Various forms of radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy may be used in addition to surgery to aid in controlling the growth of cancer cells which cannot be completely removed by surgery alone. This is most commonly used for very aggressive, fast growing and rapidly spreading tumors such as malignant melanoma. In particular, if there is distant spread of the tumor (metastasis) then chemotherapy is often recommended. Because basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are slower growing and less likely to metastasize, these types of treatment are more rarely required, local surgical excision usually sufficing to remove the whole tumor.