Skin Cancer Treatment

No matter what type of skin cancer you have or what stage it is in, you will receive a tailored treatment plan that is personalized for your unique needs. At Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, each patient with skin cancer receives input from a multidisciplinary tumor board to understand the best path to treatment.

This cross-disciplinary care makes Winship’s skin cancer program one of the best in the country. Our expertise in dermatopathology and our willingness to work across sites, if needed, provide you with unmatched care during your experience with skin cancer.

Non-melanoma skin cancers, such as basal and squamous cell carcinomas, are common and usually very treatable with surgery. Actinic keratosis is a pre-cancerous lesion also considered to be low-risk and treatable via cryotherapy or outpatient surgery.

Other, rarer types of skin cancer, such as Merkel cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma, are aggressive and, if spread beyond the skin to other parts of the body, can be harder to treat. Treatment options for metastatic skin disease can include one or a combination of the following:

Surgery

Surgery is usually the first line of treatment if a skin cancer has not spread throughout the body but, increasingly, immunotherapy or chemotherapy may be given before surgery (neoadjuvant therapy). For some patients, removing the tumor will offer a cure. There are several surgical procedures that can be used, including:

• Excision — cutting and removing the tumor from the skin.
• Curettage and electrodesiccation — scraping along the tumor surface with the use of an electric needle to destroy any cancer cells that might remain in the area.
• Mohs surgery — a surgical technique that removes layers of skin until the tumor is removed. This procedure has better cosmetic outcomes and allows for more normal skin to be saved.
• Lymph node surgery — certain skin cancers require the removal of lymph nodes in proximity to cancerous areas. Here at Winship, our experts have pioneered a surgical technique to remove the lymph nodes from the groin called a minimally invasive inguinal lymphadenectomy. This procedure improves recovery and lowers the risk of infection.

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy uses extreme cold to freeze and remove abnormal tissue. Liquid nitrogen is applied and freezes off the affected area.

Photodynamic Therapy

A special gel is applied to the affected area. This gel collects in the tumor cells and converts them so that they are very sensitive to certain types of light. This light is then used to destroy the cancer cells. This method is a common actinic keratosis treatment.

Topical Chemotherapy

A cancer-fighting chemotherapy drug is applied directly to the skin, where the drug kills off the cancer cells.

Immune Response Modifiers

A cancer-fighting chemotherapy drug is applied directly to the skin, where the drug kills off the cancer cells.

Laser Surgery

Laser surgery is a surgical procedure that employs a laser to precisely cut tissue. The focused laser beam targets the cancer cells directly, effectively destroying them.

Chemical Peel

A chemical is applied to the skin where, over the course of several hours or days, the cancer cells are killed off.

Additional therapies may be used following surgery for those with more advanced skin cancer. These will include one or a combination of:

Radiation Therapy

High-energy X-rays or other types of radiation are used to kill cancer cells. Depending on the size and location of the tumor, radiation may be used on its own or it may be used to help shrink tumors before moving forward with surgery. Winship radiation oncologists are helping develop new ways of using radiation to treat skin cancers.

Immunotherapy

This type of therapy uses specific medications that stimulate a patient’s immune system to fight cancer. This type of therapy has shown promise in treatment of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, particularly if the cancer has metastasized to other areas of the body.

Targeted Therapies

With targeted therapies, your care team uses drugs that target specific mutations in cancer cells. Targeted therapy frequently has fewer side effects.

Chemotherapy

Anti-cancer drugs may be used to treat advanced skin cancers that have spread to other organs.

Winship continues to research and discover newer, more effective treatment options.

Winship has access to many of the latest clinical trials underway all over the country as well as trials designed here. This ensures our patients have access to some of the most advanced cancer treatments for skin cancer and other cutaneous malignancies. Our clinical researchers have helped pioneer new immunotherapies that have improved outcomes for many patients with various types of skin cancers.

Treatment for skin cancer can result in some side effects, and Winship is here to support you in this process. We offer a supportive oncology team of specialized doctors and nurses who can help with the physical, psychological and emotional aspects of living with cancer, including symptom management and counseling. This team of counselors, nurse navigators, dietitians and social service professionals will be with you every step of the way.