Actinic keratosis : Actinic keratosis is a small, rough, raised area found on areas of your skin that have often been exposed to the sun for a long period of time. Some actinic keratoses may develop into a type of skin cancer. Actinic keratosis is caused by exposure to sunlight.
Symptoms
Actinic keratosis is usually found on the face, scalp, back of the hands, chest, or places that are often in the sun.
• The skin changes begin as flat and scaly areas. They often have a white or yellow crusty "scale" on top.
• The growths may be gray, pink, red, or the same color as the skin. Later they may become hard and wart-like or gritty and rough.
• The areas may be easier to feel than see.
Treatment
Some actinic keratoses become squamous cell skin cancer.
Growths may be removed by:
• Burning (electrical cautery)
• Scraping away the lesion and using electricity to kill any remaining cells (called curettage and electrodesiccation)
• Cutting the tumor out and using stitches to place the skin back together (called excision)
• Freezing (cryotherapy, which freezes and kills the cells)
If you have many of these skin growths, your doctor may recommend:
• A laser treatment called photodynamic therapy
• Chemical peels
• Skin creams such as 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and imiquimod