Nonmelanocytic Skin Cancer: A Case Study

Treatment for skin cancer depends on the cell type cancer i.e nonmelanocytic skin cancer (NMSC) and malignant melanoma (MM), the depth or stage, the size and location of the disease and. In general, the goal of the treatment is to eradicate or remove the cancerous part. When cancer is removed during a biopsy, no more treatment is needed. However, in some cases, cancer may spread to other parts of the body which can make it hard to treat.

Nonmelanocytic Skin Cancer and MM Treatment

According to the article “Skin Cancer and Its Treatment”, there are many treatment options available for clients with NMSC to choose such as radical excision surgery. The main goal of this treatment is to remove the tumor entirely. The tumor and the surrounding of the normal skin are removed and send to the lab as a safety margin. Whenever a radical

excision is not an option, cryotherapy, curettage, and electrodesiccation may be the appropriate treatment.

Cryotherapy, the use of liquid nitrogen that is applied to the tumor and deep-freezing it without any cutting. It is useful for clients with a bleeding disorder. On the other hand, curettage and electrodesiccation are techniques reserved for a superficial small lesion. It involves scrapping off the tumor site and use an electrocautery needle to desiccate any remaining malignant cell. Mohs surgery removes the cancer cell layer by layer and examines under a microscope. If Clients may not want to have surgical treatment. Moreover, the location of certain cancer might make it unpractical to achieve a desirable outcome, for example, the tip of the nose or cancer of the eyelids. In those cases, chemotherapy may prove the reasonable alternative. chemotherapy can be systemic or topical. 5-fluorouracil is a topical med most often use for pre-cancerous cell and NMSC. It applies directly to the skin which means it does not cause the same side effect as a systemic chemo would. However, it does make the skin sensitive to the

sun and red, so the client needs to protect from the sun for a few weeks. Systemic drugs such as doxorubicin and cisplatin attack the tumor cell that is spread to lymph node and other organs Moreover, those drugs are also as an adjuvant therapy to shrink the tumor so that surgery or radiation can be effective. Photodynamic therapy (PDP) can also be used to kill the cancer cell. It makes the cell sensitive to a particular light. Local radiation is another form of therapy use in skin cancer.
For melanoma, the type of treatment depends on the stage and location. In the article “Current Treatment Option for Malignant Melanoma”, it shows that if the tumor is less than 1.5 mm, it can be removed by surgical excision alone. However, if the tumor is more than 4 mm and deep, wide local excision is required. Recently, the treatment for metastatic melanoma has changed since the newer form of therapy has been proving to be more effective than chemos such as immunotherapy and targeted drugs. the only chemo drug that is still being used for widespread melanoma is dacarbazine (DTIC-Dome). Immunotherapy using interferon and interleukin-2 is a treatment used with a client who has stage skin cancer. It involves using the client’s own immune defenses to fight the cancer cell. Targeted therapy is another form of treatment that also uses drugs to destroy the tumor cell without harming the normal cell.
As with any cancer regiment treatment, clients have to remember that everyone reacts differently and experiences side effect differently.