solar keratosis

keratosis

 [ker″ah-to´sis]

any horny growth, such as a wart or callosity.

actinic keratosis a sharply outlined wartlike or keratotic growth, which may develop into a cutaneous horn, and may become malignant; it usually occurs in the middle aged or elderly and is due to excessive exposure to the sun. Called also senile or solar keratosis. (See Atlas 3, Part F).

keratosis follicula´ris a slowly progressive autosomal dominant disorder of keratinization characterized by pinkish to tan or skin-colored papules on the seborrheic areas of the body that coalesce to form plaques, which may become crusted and secondarily infected; over time, the lesions may become darker and may fuse to form papillomatous and warty malodorous growths. Called also Darier's disease and Darier-White disease.

keratosis palma´ris et planta´ris palmoplantar keratoderma.

keratosis pharyn´gea horny projections from the tonsils and pharyngeal walls. Called also pharyngokeratosis.

keratosis pila´ris hyperkeratosis limited to the hair follicles.

keratosis puncta´ta a hereditary hyperkeratosis in which the lesions are localized in multiple points on the palms and soles.

seborrheic keratosis (keratosis seborrhe´ica) a benign, noninvasive tumor of epidermal origin, marked by numerous yellow or brown, sharply marginated, oval, raised lesions.

senile keratosis (solar keratosis) actinic keratosis.

Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

ac·tin·ic ker·a·to·sis

a premalignant warty lesion occurring on the sun-exposed skin of the face or hands in aged light-skinned persons; hyperkeratosis may form a cutaneous horn, and squamous cell carcinoma of low-grade malignancy may develop in a small proportion of untreated patients.

Synonym(s): senile keratoderma, senile keratoma, senile keratosis, keratosis senilis, senile wart, solar keratosis, verruca plana senilis, verruca senilis

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

actinic keratosis

A premalignant lesion of sun-exposed skin that is overly sensitive to the effects of UV light (i.e., sunlight), and more common in the fair-skinned or elderly, and the immunocompromised.
 
Diagnosis
Biopsy.
 
Management
Cryosurgery, photodynamic therapy, laser (CO2, Er:YAG), electrocautery; some topical immune response modifiers (e.g., 5FU) may be used to promote peeling.
 
Prognosis
± 20% of AKs develop into squamous cell carcinoma.

Prevention
Broad-spectrum sunscreens with a sun protection factor of 17 may reduce new lesions; avoid photosensitising drugs (e.g., tetracyclines); in subjects with AK placed on a low-fat diet, the incidence of new lesions fell to 1⁄3 that of the control (non-diet intervention) group. HPV replication is thought to play a role in malignant changes.

Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.