Open AccessAttitudes among dermatologists regarding actinic keratosis treatment options
Author(s) -
Gaia Moretta,
Tonia Samela,
Francesca Sampogna,
Francesco Ricci,
F Carlesimo,
Annarita Panebianco,
Angelo Massimiliano D’Erme,
Giovanni Di Lella,
Sabatino Pallotta,
Elena Dellambra,
Damiano Abeni,
Luca Fania
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
dermatology reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.183
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 2036-7406
pISSN - 2036-7392
DOI - 10.4081/dr.2022.9392
Subject(s) - medicine , actinic keratosis , cryotherapy , imiquimod , dermatology , photodynamic therapy , tolerability , population , skin cancer , actinic keratoses , keratosis , basal cell , surgery , cancer , adverse effect , chemistry , environmental health , organic chemistry
Actinic keratosis (AK) is considered a pre-cancerous lesion that may progress into an invasive squamous cell carcinoma. Its prevalence is increasing, and it has been estimated worldwide to range between 1% and 44% of the adult population. The main risk factors for AK are advanced age, fair skin phototype and cumulative sun exposure. Treatment of AK consists of lesion-directed treatment to target single lesions (i.e., cryotherapy, curettage, electrocoagulation, and laser therapy) or field therapy to treat multiple AKs (i.e., photodynamic therapy (PDT), 5- Fluorouracil (5-FU), diclofenac sodium (DIC), imiquimod (IMQ), ingenol mebutate (Ing Meb)). The choice of therapy depends on the number and localization of AKs, patient’s condition, and the patient's tolerability and compliance. In this survey we provided data from one hundred and ten Italian dermatologists regarding knowledge and attitude towards different therapeutic approaches specific for AK. In our study, we observed that the most frequent treatments for AK are cryotherapy and PDT while surgery and laser therapy are the less frequently utilized. The most frequent topical therapies utilized are DIC and IMQ 3.75% cream compared to IMQ 5% cream, Ing Meb, and 5-FU. Choice the correct treatment for AK can be challenging but the adherence to therapy plays a key role to obtain good results. Considering the high and progressive increase in incidence of AK, it is crucial to improve the knowledge of different therapeutic approaches among dermatologists.