What is actinic keratosis?

Actinic keratoses, also known as solar keratosis, are rough, scaly patches on the skin that have a reddish or brown color. Actinic keratoses take years to develop and occur on areas that are exposed to lots of sunlight, such as the face, arms, hands, and bald scalp in men. Excessive ultraviolet exposure (UV) causes mutations in skin cell DNA, which causes abnormal lesions that have a sandpaper-like texture. Actinic keratoses lesions are relatively common in lighter skinned patients who work mostly outdoors or are exposed to a lot of sun. In Australia, Actinic keratoses can be found in almost half of the adult population. Patches are usually found on older people and are more common in men than in women. If left untreated, actinic keratosis can sometimes develop into a harmful skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)