Posted on 01/15/2023 8:58:12 PM PST by ConservativeMind
New research indicates that simple laser treatments to the skin may help to prevent the development of basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, which are collectively known as keratinocyte carcinoma and are the most common types of cancer diagnosed in the United States.
The work reveals an easy-to-implement strategy to protect individuals' skin health.
Nonablative fractional lasers (NAFL) deliver heat in a fractional manner that leaves it fully intact after treatment (unlike ablative fractional lasers that remove the top layer of skin), and they're currently used to treat scars, sun-damaged skin, age spots, and more; however, their effectiveness for preventing skin damage is unknown.
To investigate, Mathew Avram, MD, JD and his colleagues studied patients who had been successfully treated for facial keratinocyte carcinoma in the past. Such patients have a 35% risk of experiencing a subsequent keratinocyte carcinoma within 3 years and a 50% risk within 5 years.
The rate of subsequent facial keratinocyte carcinoma development over an average follow-up of more than 6 years was 20.9% in NAFL-treated patients and 40.4% in controls, indicating that patients treated with NAFL had about half the risk.
When controlling for age, gender, and skin type, control patients were 2.65-times more likely to develop a new facial keratinocyte carcinoma than NAFL-treated patients.
Also, among patients who developed a facial keratinocyte carcinoma, the time to development was significantly longer in patients treated with NAFL compared with untreated patients.
"These findings suggest that NAFL treatment may have an important role in protecting against subsequent keratinocyte carcinomas," says Avram.
"While the mechanism of NAFL's protective effect is not completely understood, it is suspected that NAFL treatment reduces the overall burden of photo damaged keratinocytes and may promote a wound healing response, which gives healthy skin cells a selective advantage."
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Interesting - I’ve been treated for basil cell (and another type). I am now waiting for analysis for the one on the outer border of my ear
saving for later... thanks
Cryo-ablation (freezing) of sun related skin lesions is absurdly expensive, and if you do not have health insurance you can multiply the charge 2X or 3X times higher.
Millions of skin biopsies could be avoided every year in the USA if Dermos preemptively froze lesions when they first appear.
Instead, most Dermos do nothing until lesions begin to change or grow, at which point they cut them out and send them to the lab - and send you a $750 bill.
If Registered Nurses or Physician Assistants were specially trained in cryo-ablation, one third of Dermatologists would go out of business.
I used to get extensive cryo treatments (non cancer related) in the 90s for $25/visit. They stung pretty bad at times, though.
That happens in my primary office.
I had basal cell carcinoma Mohs surgery on my nose a few years back. They just start carving off skin layer by layer until they don’t see any more cancer cells. Plastic surgery on the spot. It would be great if they could do away with this butchery and solve the problem.
I love your choice of the word “butchery”. After all, we are mammals, just like the cow who gets carved by the butcher for my steaks.
Several years ago, I had the same Mohs surgery for the basal-cell carcinoma in the middle of my back and the side of my neck. Now, I’m dealing with actinic keratosis on my right ear. So far, they’ve carved out two layers on the ear and I’m waiting on the prognosis of that 2nd slice. It looks like I’m wearing a red pierced earring the size of a dime above the ear lobe. As a teenager, I sunburned many times and 40 years later, I’m now paying the price.
Sounds like we’re pretty much in the same boat. Fair skinned northern European for me. When young..40’s/50’s.. we played in sun with no cares. Got some serious sun burn for efforts. Lake Michigan life guard 2 summers. All sun damage cumulative over the years. Decades later showing up as actinic keratoses and skin cancers...mostly on nose..and routinely burned off with liquid nitrogen. Mohs surgery a modern version of Chinese death by a thousand cuts...which was no joke if one cares to Google images of same!
Good luck!
I was thinking in terms of RNs and PAs in direct competition with Dermos.
Current Reality - 6 months to get a Dermo appointment for a $175 office call
RNs & PAs - same day cryo-ablation service at a 70% discount
Also, AI photo-identification of cancerous lesions and skin diseases is now equal to Dermo skill, so medical liability costs would be minimal. Freeze everything the patient asks for, then refer to a Dermo for any AI issues.
Well it is the primary who looks and the office nurses who do the ablation.
Yes, I agree.
My point - with the legal protection of AI photo-diagnosis, the nurses can lose the M.D. and go into the cryo-ablation business on their own.
Well nurses and PA’s are doing that all over.
Independent of a board certified Dermatologist M.D.?
If they are doing that in Seattle, I have not heard about it.
Under the auspices of a family practice and in this state practicing independently.
Are you saying they have their own client list and no professional relationship with the family practice?
Are you saying they perform cryo-ablations without medical referrals or supervision?
Are they independently licensed by the state?
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