Pre-Cancerous Lesions - Tieman Dermatology

What is a pre-cancerous lesion?

Also called actinic keratosis and solar keratosis, pre-cancerous lesions are precancerous skin growths caused by the sun or indoor tanning.

Will a pre-cancerous lesion always turn into skin cancer?

Treatment can prevent a pre-cancerous skin growth from progressing to skin cancer. When you get rid of a pre-cancerous lesion, it cannot go on to become skin cancer.

Symptoms of Pre-cancerous lesions

A rough-feeling patch on skin

This man said that a small patch of skin on the back of his neck felt like sandpaper. Later, a visible actinic keratosis appeared on his sandpaper-like patch of skin.

Rough patch on skin

Rough, scaly bumps that may looks like pimples

The arrows on this woman’s face point to actinic keratoses.

Rough, scaly bumps

Several scaly, raised spots that may look like a rash or acne breakout

Many of the spots on this woman’s forehead, nose, and cheeks are actinic keratoses.

Scaly, raised spots

A raised, rough-feeling patch that may be red, pink, skin-colored, or gray

The reddish, pink patch below this man’s sideburn is an actinic keratosis.

Colored, raise, rough patch

Flat, scaly area that may look like an age spot

The spot on this man’s nose may look like an age spot, but it’s actually an actinic keratosis. AKs more commonly look like age spots in people who have skin of color.

Flat, scaly area

A dry, scaly lip that never heals

It may look like this man has a badly chapped lower lip, but the white, dry, and cracked skin is actually a precancerous growth.

Dry, scaly lip

Scaly, white patches on lips

White patches on your lips can be a sign that you have a precancerous condition on your lips.

Scaly, white lips

Loss of color on lips

About half the color on this man’s lower lip has disappeared, turning his lip the same color as the skin on his face.

Loss of lip color

A growth that looks like an animal's horn

When an pre-cancerous lesion, or actinic keratosis, appears in this form, it often indicates that the person has a higher risk of developing a type of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma.

Growth like animal's horn