According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, skin cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer in the United States. One of the most common types of skin cancer is basal cell carcinoma, and the prognosis for recovery from this disease is very good. The National Cancer Institute says that skin cancer originates in your epidermis, which is the outer layer of your skin. Basal cells are one of the three types of cells that constitute the epidermis and are liable to become cancerous.
Mohs Micrographic Surgery
According to the National Cancer Institute, Mohs surgery is a basal cell skin cancer treatment in which your doctor removes a cancerous lesion in stages. First, your doctor takes off the top layer of the lesion, and then successively lower layers are removed and examined under a microscope. The process continues until an excised layer of epidermal tissue shows no cancer cells upon inspection under a microscope.
Electrodessication and Curettage
Electrodessication is a process that involves drying the cancerous lesion by application of a high-frequency electric current that comes from a needle-shaped electrode, says the National Cancer Institute. When the cancerous tissue is dry, your doctor will use a spoon-shaped instrument called a curette to scrape away the wound.
Cryosurgery
According to the National Cancer Institute, cryosurgery is a treatment for basal cell skin cancer in which your doctor will spray liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide onto the cancerous lesion to freeze and destroy the cancer cells. This technique may also be called cryoablation or cryosurgical ablation.
Radiation
If your basal cell skin cancer condition does not lend itself to surgical treatment or if you are an elderly patient, radiation therapy may be a good treatment option for you, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. In this procedure, your doctor will focus x-ray beams on the lesion. There is no need for anesthesia, but it will take several weekly treatments over the course of a month or more to kill the cancer cells completely. This method has a 90 percent success rate, but repeated exposure to radiation and the need for multiple visits to your doctor are definite disadvantages.
Topical Medications
The Skin Cancer Foundation points out that imiquimod is a topical cream that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of superficial basal cell carcinomas. You apply this 5 percent cream directly to the tumor 5 times a week for up to 6 weeks, and you can expect an 80 to 90 percent success rate, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. Another FDA-approved topical medication for superficial basal cell carcinomas is 5-fluorouracil, which you apply to the lesion as a 5 percent liquid or ointment twice a day for 3 to 6 weeks. Both medications are available by prescription only.
