Q. What are the available treatments for skin cancer?
Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.
Skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer, and its treatment depends on the type of skin cancer, size and location. Generally speaking, surgeons may use a combination of surgery, targeted therapies, radiation therapy and chemotherapy to treat skin cancer.
Surgery: Surgery is often the first line of treatment for many types of skin cancers. This can be done in various ways depending on the type and size; it may involve cutting away only a small area (local excision) or removing larger areas (wide local excision). In some cases where more extensive removal is necessary – such as melanoma –a lymph node biopsy may also be performed to check if cancer has spread beyond the initial site.
Targeted Therapies: Targeted therapies work by targeting specific molecules involved in signaling pathways that control cell growth and death; they include immune-based treatments such as checkpoint inhibitors or adoptive T-cell therapy as well as new drug classes like anti-angiogenic agents that target tumor vascularization. These are used most often for advanced stages but can also be combined with other treatments at an earlier stage.
Radiation Therapy: Radiation therapy uses high energy rays to specifically target affected cells while sparing normal tissue from damage due to radiation exposure. It’s typically used after surgical removal when there’s concern about residual disease or when surgeries aren’t suited due to anatomic limitations (e.g., eyelid tumors). Depending on the patient's condition this form of treatment can follow up with systemic therapies including chemotherapy or hormonal therapy.
Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy works by damaging DNA within malicious cells - preventing them from reproducing which eventually leads them to die off through apoptosis . Its main use today is for very advanced cases that have metastasized beyond their primary site; multiagent regimens are combined according to response rates between different chemotherapeutic drugs resulting in better outcomes for patients overall .
In conclusion, depending on its severity several protocols exist for treating skin cancer ranging from surgery all the way up through systemic treatments like chemotherapy . Despite being a serious malignancy , early detection remains optimal achieving positive prognoses even in extreme cases . It's important therefore that any suspicious lesions should prompt people seeing a medical professional in order get evaluated accordingly since this could make all the difference towards successful eradication outcomes..
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