Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer

Treatment

The following treatment options are available at Mayo Clinic. Specific treatment decisions are based on each patient's condition.

Curettage and Electrodesiccation

After scraping away most of a growth with a long thin instrument (curette), physicians use a mild electronic current to destroy any remaining abnormal cells. This simple, quick procedure is commonly used to treat small basal or squamous cell cancers.

Freezing (Cryosurgery)

Small, early stage cancers can be destroyed by freezing them with liquid nitrogen. This treatment can normally be performed in a physician's office.

Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic therapy destroys skin cancer cells with a combination of laser light and drugs that sensitize cancer cells to light. The treatment is currently used on precancerous skin lesions and small skin cancers. Mayo Clinic researchers are investigating its effectiveness on more advanced skin cancers.

Laser Therapy

Superficial skin cancers can often be treated with an intense beam of light (laser) that dissolves growths with minimal bleeding.

Advanced Skin Cancer

For more advanced skin cancer, treatment often includes:

Mohs Surgery

For large lesions, recurring cases, or skin cancer on the face, Mohs surgery may offer optimal results. The physician will remove the skin growth layer by layer. Each layer will be examined under the microscope, and removal of layers will continue until no abnormal cells remain. This treatment has the highest cure rate of any skin cancer treatment, and is especially useful for areas of the body that have a high recurrence rate (eyelids, ears, nose, mouth). Annually, the highly trained dermatologic surgeons at Mayo Clinic perform more than 2,000 Mohs surgeries for patients with nonmelanoma skin cancer.

Surgical Excision

Possible for any type of skin cancer, the procedure may be performed in the outpatient or inpatient setting depending on the extent of the cancer's spread. Cancerous tissue, along with a margin of healthy tissue, is cut out (excised) in this procedure. Reconstruction and skin grafting may be part of this treatment if the cancerous tumor is on the head or neck.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is appropriate for some patients with skin cancer and can result in very high cure rates.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy, typically given as anticancer pills or intravenous medication, may be used for severe cancer that has invaded parts of the body beyond the skin.