Treatment
There are different treatment options for skin cancer. Your treatment depends on:
the type of skin cancer
how far it's grown or spread
where the cancer is
the stage of the cancer (if relevant)
A team of doctors and other professionals discuss the best treatment and care for you. They are called a multidisciplinary team (MDT). They will explain the benefits and possible side effects with you.
You may only see one specialist. But the team will have discussed your test results and case notes to work out the best treatment for you.
Some GPs have had special training and are part of the local hospital skin cancer MDT. They are able to treat a type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma (BCC). So you might not need a referral to see a specialist at the hospital.
The main treatment for skin cancer is surgery. Most people only have surgery and don't need further treatment. But some people might not be able to have surgery, or need another treatment after surgery.
Other treatments include:
radiotherapy
immunotherapy cream
photodynamic therapy
chemotherapy cream
You might have one or more of these treatments, depending on your situation.
Surgery is usually minor. You usually have an injection of local anaesthetic in the area and then the doctor removes the cancer and a small amount of the surrounding tissue. You might have a skin graft depending on where the cancer is in the body, or if it covers a larger area.
There are different types of surgery. The surgery you have depends on where the cancer is, how many areas of cancer you have and how big the cancer is.
Read about surgery for skin cancer
Radiotherapy uses high energy rays to destroy cancer cells.
Radiotherapy is a treatment for basal cell carcinoma (BCC) or squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). You're most likely to have radiotherapy if:
your cancer covers a wide area
it's in an area that's difficult to operate on
surgery isn't suitable for you
it's to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back after surgery
your cancer has spread to the lymph nodes
Read more about radiotherapy for skin cancer
Immunotherapy treatment uses your body’s natural defences (immune system) to help kill the skin cancer cells.
For skin cancer you might have:
immunotherapy cream
immunotherapy into your bloodstream
You put imiquimod cream on to the affected area of skin. It makes cells produce more chemicals such as interferon and these destroy the skin cancer cells.
You might have imiquimod cream as a treatment if you have BCC in the top layer of skin or actinic keratosis. Actinic keratosis is a skin condition that can develop into a SCC over time.
Cemiplimab is a type of immunotherapy called a checkpoint inhibitor.
You might have cemiplimab for SCC if:
it has spread to deeper layers of skin, nearby lymph nodes or other parts of the body
you can’t have surgery or radiotherapy
Read more about checkpoint inhibitors
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses a drug to make your skin sensitive to light. Once you have had the drug your doctor focuses a special type of light on the area where the cancer is. This destroys the cancer cells.
PDT is a treatment for some types of BCC, Bowen's disease and actinic keratosis.
Read more about photodynamic therapy
Chemotherapy uses anti cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells.
For skin cancer, you might have chemotherapy as:
a cream (topical treatment) directly onto your skin cancer
It is rare to treat skin cancer with chemotherapy into the vein (intravenously).
Chemotherapy cream is a treatment for:
actinic keratosis (solar keratosis), to prevent it turning into SCC
skin cancers that are only on the top layer of the skin
Bowen's disease
You usually have a cream containing the chemotherapy drug Fluorouracil (5FU). If you have actinic keratosis you might have 5FU cream or tirbanibulin cream.
Read about chemotherapy for skin cancer
Your doctor might ask if you’d like to take part in a clinical trial. Doctors and researchers do trials to make existing treatments better and develop new treatments.
Last reviewed: 31 Jan 2023
Next review due: 20 Oct 2026
Symptoms of skin cancer can include: a sore that doesn't heal, an area of skin that looks unusual, red, itchy, bleeds or scabs for more than 4 weeks.
The 2 main types of non melanoma skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
The cure rates for non melanoma skin cancers are very high.
Non melanoma skin cancer includes basal cell skin cancer, squamous cell skin cancer and other rare types.
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