JAAD: Therapeutic options for radiation therapy to treat skin cancer

In 1990, radiotherapy was first used to treat patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the nose of the skin (cSCC), although with the development of dermatology and surgical techniques, such as Morse Microsurgery (MMS), radiotherapy was used in the diagnosis and treatment of skin malignant tumors.

JAAD's September 2021 continuing education section reviewed the role of radiotherapy in the treatment of skin nausea tumors, including diagnosis and application

Electron beam radiotherapy

Electron beam radiation therapy (EBRT) can treat extensive tumors, deep tumors, or tumors in complex anatomical locations

For example, a 6 megaelectron volt (MeV) beam provides 80% of its dose at a depth of approximately 2 cm, while a 20-MeV beam provides 80% of its dose at a depth of approximately 6 cm

A 93-year-old man with squamous cell carcinoma of the cheek in front of his right ear had his head and neck fixed by a custom-made mask (see outline on the right) .

The dose depth of the electron beam

Radionuclide brachytherapy

Radionuclide brachytherapy involves applying a radioactive source such as iridium 192 or cobalt to the target tissue, followed by high-dose gamma photon radiation

Brachytherapy can also be combined withEBRT (External Radiation Therapy) to provide sufficient therapeutic doses for the tumor and surrounding tissues at risk, as shown in Figure 6

A, a 65-year-old man, the left nasal vestibule cSCC extends to the epithelial lip and nasal alar

Superficial radiation therapy

For more than a century, superficial radiation therapy (SRT) has been used to treat skin malignancies

The watch compares the common methods of radiotherapy in the treatment of most basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers