Melanoma/Skin Cancer Health Center

Medicines are rarely used to treat nonmelanoma skin cancer. Surgery is the most common and the most effective treatment. But when surgery is not possible, your doctor may suggest medicines. Medicines may also be used when a skin cancer is too large for surgery or when new skin cancers keep appearing.

Medication Choices

Medicines that may be used to treat nonmelanoma skin cancer include:

• Fluorouracil (5-FU). With topical chemotherapy, the medicine that kills cancer cells is in a cream or lotion that is put right on the skin. Treatment with 5-FU cream or lotion is used for both basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas that are superficial (only in the top layer of skin).
• Imiquimod 5% cream (Aldara). Imiquimod is used to treat superficial basal cell cancer on the skin of the body, neck, arms, or legs, but it is not approved for treating the face.

People treated with medicines will need to have regular follow-up visits with their doctors to make sure the skin cancer is gone.

Chemotherapy may be used to destroy cancer cells in the small number of people who have basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma that has spread (metastasized) to other organs in the body, though metastasis is rare.

What To Think About

Medicines such as 5-FU and imiquimod may cause your skin to be sore. Your skin may turn red, swell, itch, or break out in a rash. Your skin may also be sensitive to sunlight. If your skin turns too red or raw, your doctor may stop the treatment.

How well medicines work for nonmelanoma skin cancer is not fully known. Studies are currently being done on the following medicines to find out their effectiveness.

• Interferon is a substance produced by the body that helps the immune system fight disease more effectively.
• Tretinoin (Retin-A) cream is derived from vitamin A and is one of a class of substances called retinoids. Tretinoin cream may prevent new skin cancers in people who have an increased risk for skin cancer.