Continued from previous page.​

The Department of Dermatology from Singapore General Hospital (SGH), a memb​​​​​​er of the SingHealth group, shares on treatment for skin cancer.

Skin cancer treatment

Treatment will vary depending on the type and extent of the skin cancer. Treatment options include:

Type of treatment

What it does​

Excision surgery

This is the most common treatment for skin cancer. A skin graft may be required after a wide excision of skin.

Curettage and electrocautery

The tumour is scraped off the healthy skin and the area is heated to destroy remaining cancer cells.

Cryotherapy

The cancer cells are frozen off with liquid nitrogen.

Lasers

An intense beam of light is used to destroy the cancerous growth with little damage to surrounding skin.

Radiation

This is used in areas difficult to treat with surgery.

Topical chemotherapy

A cream or liquid is applied directly to the tumour to kill the cancer cells.

Topical immunotherapy

Creams are applied directly on the affected area of the skin to stimulate the immune system to attack the cance​​​r cells

Photodynamic therapy

This is a new form of treatment that combines oxygen, light energy and a photosensitizer to generate oxygen radicals that eliminate cancer cells.

Moh’s micrographic surgery

The cancerous tissue is excised, mapped and examined under the microscope until a clear margin is obtained.

If the skin cancer spreads to other parts of the body, a combination of excision surgery, radiation and chemotherapy or immunotherapy may be used to treat it.

“Early detection and timely treatment of skin cancer can cure most non-melanoma skin cancers. However, the prognosis for thick melanoma with widespread metastasis is grave,” explains the SGH Department of Dermatology.

How to recognise a melanoma

This ABCDE rule can help you distinguish a melanoma growth from a benign mole. According to this rule, the five signs of melanoma are:

A = Asymmetry – the growth is uneven in shape
B = Border – the border or edges are irregular
C = Colour – haphazard combination of many c​olours
D = Diameter – over 6 mm​
E = Evolving – enlarging/changing shape of a pigmented growth

All skin cancer patients require regular follow-up after treatment to check for recurrence or spread of the cancer to other parts of the body.

It is important to seek medical advice if you notice any suspicious-looking growth or a change in ​an existing growth on your skin.​

Did you know that there are three types of skin cancer? Learn how to identify them.

​​Ref: H24