Research into the causes, prevention, and treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer is under way in many medical centers throughout the world.

Basic skin cancer research

Scientists have made a great deal of progress during the past few years in understanding how ultraviolet light damages DNA and how changes in DNA cause normal skin cells to become cancerous. Researchers are continually working to apply this new information to new strategies for treating skin cancers.

Public education

Most skin cancer is preventable. The greatest reduction in the number of skin cancer cases, as well as in the pain and loss of life from this disease, will come from preventive strategies. This means educating the public about skin cancer risk factors, prevention, and detection. It is important for health care professionals and skin cancer survivors to remind others about the dangers of excessive unprotected sun exposure and about how easily you can protect your skin from UV radiation.

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) sponsors annual free skin cancer screenings throughout the country. Many local American Cancer Society offices work closely with AAD to provide volunteers for registration, coordination, and education efforts related to these free screenings. Look for information locally about these screenings or call the American Academy of Dermatology for more information. Their phone number and Web address are listed in the "Additional resources" section of this document.

Preventing genital skin cancers

Squamous cell cancers that start in the genital region account for almost half of the deaths from keratinocyte cancers. At least some of these cancers may be related to infection with certain types of human papilloma virus (HPV), which can be spread through sexual contact.

In recent years, vaccines have been developed to help protect against infection from some types of HPV. The main intent of the vaccines has been to reduce the risk of cervical cancer, but they may also lower a person's risk of other cancers that might be related to HPV. The vaccines have only been around for a short time, so this will not be known for sure for many years.

Chemoprevention

An area of active research is the field of chemoprevention -- using drugs to prevent cancers from forming. Chemoprevention is likely to be more useful for people at high risk of skin cancers (especially squamous cell cancers), such as those with a prior history of skin cancer or those who have received organ transplants, rather than for people at average risk of skin cancer.

The most widely studied drugs so far are the retinoids, which are drugs related to vitamin A. But while they have shown some promise, these drugs can have side effects, including the potential to cause birth defects. For this reason they are not widely used at this time, except in some people at very high risk. Further studies of retinoids are under way. Other compounds being looked at to reduce the risk of skin cancer include eflornithine and certain antioxidants, including green tea extracts.

Treatment

Local treatments

Current local treatments are successful for the vast majority of non-melanoma skin cancers. Still, even some small cancers can be hard to treat if they're in certain areas. Newer forms of non-surgical treatment such as imiquimod cream, photodynamic therapy, immune response modulators, and laser surgery may help reduce scarring and other possible side effects of treatment. Studies are now under way to determine the best way to use these treatments, and to try to improve on their effectiveness.

Treating advanced disease

While most skin cancers are found and treated at a fairly early stage, some may spread to other parts of the body. These cancers can often be hard to treat with current therapies such as radiation and chemotherapy.

Several studies are testing newer targeted drugs for advanced squamous cell cancers. Cells from these cancers often have too much of a protein called EGFR on their surfaces, which may help them grow. Drugs that target this protein, such as cetuximab (Erbitux) and gefitinib (Iressa), are now being tested in clinical trials. A drug that targets different cell proteins, known as dasatinib (Sprycel), is also being studied for advanced skin cancers.