Intended for healthcare professionals
Primary care

Practical management of actinic keratosis in primary care

Puo Nen Lim (Chris) and Neill Hepburn

Foundation year 2 Doctor1

MD FRCP Consultant Dermatologist2

1. City Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS trust

2. Lincoln County Hospital

The term actinic, or solar, keratosis, meaning a thickened scaly growth (keratosis) caused by sunlight, was coined in 1958. The condition presents as areas of abnormal keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation on adult skin,  typically occurring after prolonged periods of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation on sunexposed areas in fair-skinned individuals. Other risk factors for developing actinic keratoses (AKs) include UVB-specific mutations in the p53 gene, increasing age and immunosuppression following organ transplantation or chemotherapy for malignant disease or in those with HIV infection.

Dermatology in practice 2018; 24(1): 4–8
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