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Actinic keratosis
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An actinic keratosis is a skin lesion that looks scaly, and often you feel it before you see it: you run a hand over an area that has taken a lot of sun and there's the rough spot, like a scrap of sandpaper stuck to the skin. It shows up in exactly those exposed areas because it grows out of skin damaged by years of ultraviolet radiation, UV, piling up slowly.
They don't all look the same. An actinic keratosis can be flat or raised, and the color varies from one to the next. What's worth knowing about it is that some of them, over time, can turn into squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer. Some, not all: having an actinic keratosis is not the same as having cancer, but it is a lesion that can take that road.
In brief
Actinic keratosis is a scaly skin lesion that usually appears on sun-exposed areas and can feel rough to the touch.
It develops in skin damaged by years of ultraviolet exposure, and it may be flat or raised and can vary in color.
Some actinic keratoses can progress to squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, but not all of them do.
Sources (2)
- National Cancer InstituteDefinition of actinic keratosis
- National Cancer InstituteSkin Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient VersionPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated