NewYork-Presbyterian. The University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell.

Skin Cancer: Treatment

Specific treatment for skin cancer will be determined by your physician based on:

• your age, overall health, and medical history
• extent of the disease
• your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
• expectations for the course of the disease
• your opinion or preference

There are several kinds of treatments for skin cancer, including the following:

• surgery
  Surgery is a common treatment for skin cancer - used about 90 percent of the time, and often includes the following procedures:
  
  
  • cryosurgery - freezing the tumor, which kills cancer cells.
  • electrodesiccation and curettage - burning the lesion and removing it with a sharp instrument.
  • grafting - uses a skin graft to replace skin that is damaged when cancer is removed.
  • laser therapy - using a narrow beam of light to remove cancer cells.
  • Mohs micrographic surgery - removing the cancer and as little normal tissue as possible. During this surgery, the physician removes the cancer and then uses a microscope to look at the cancerous area to make sure no cancer cells remain.
  • simple excision - cutting the cancer from the skin along with some of the healthy tissue around it.

• radiation therapy
  Radiation therapy uses a radiation machine that emits x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.

• electrochemotherapy
  Electrochemotherapy uses a combination of chemotherapy and electrical pulses to treat cancer.

• Other types of treatment include:
  
  
  • chemotherapy - treatment with drugs to destroy cancer cells.
    
    
    • topical chemotherapy - chemotherapy given as a cream or lotion placed on the skin to kill cancer cells.
    • systemic chemotherapy - chemotherapy taken by pill, or needle injection into a vein or muscle.
  • biological therapy (sometimes called biological response modifier (BRM) therapy, or immunotherapy)
    Biological therapy tries to get your own body to fight cancer by using materials made by your own body, or made in a laboratory, to boost, direct, or restore your body's natural defenses against disease.
  • photodynamic therapy
    Photodynamic therapy uses a certain type of light and a special chemical to kill cancer cells.
  • immunotherapy
    Immunotherapy of melanoma involves injecting a medication (called interferon) to boost the body's own immune system, helping it to slow the growth of the cancer.