The choice of skin cancer treatment depends on the type, stage, size and location of the tumor, whether or not the cancer has spread (metastasized), and your overall health. Skin cancer treatment options typically include surgery, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and/or chemotherapy.
A team of doctors will work with you to determine the best skin cancer treatment plan. The team may include specialists such as a surgical oncologist, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, dermatologist (a doctor who specializes in diseases of the skin), and a pathologist.
Surgery
Both non-melanoma (basal cell and squamous cell) and melanoma skin cancers can be successfully treated in almost all cases if they are diagnosed and treated when the tumor is relatively thin. Surgery to remove the tumor is the standard treatment but numerous other options are available. The type of treatment method for nonmelanoma or melanoma (early stage or late stage) cancers depends on how large the lesion is, where it is found on the body, and the specific type. Some of the common choices are as follows:
- Simple excision (removal) of the lesion and an area of normal-appearing skin surrounding it in all directions
- Curettage and electrodesiccation (scraping and cauterizing), which is effective for small basal cell and squamous cell cancers
- Mohs surgery (microscopically-controlled surgery), a highly specialized technique for basal and squamous cell carcinoma that doesn’t cause as much scarring as other methods
After surgery for melanoma, the surgeon or medical oncologist may also recommend so-called “adjuvant” treatment based on what information was learned about the disease during surgery. This may include immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and/or radiation therapy. If the melanoma has spread to distant organs (stage IV) or recurs (comes back after treatment), surgery may be performed again to help control the disease.