Researchers discovered that simple laser treatments to the skin may help prevent the development of basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, according to a new study published by Benson et al in Dermatologic Surgery. Nonablative fractional lasers—currently used to treat scars, sun-damaged skin, and age spots—deliver heat in a fractional manner that leaves the skin fully intact after treatment. In the study, the researchers involved 43 patients who received nonablative fractional laser therapy and 52 patients in a control group who did not receive the laser therapy. They observed a 20.9% rate of recurrence for facial keratinocyte carcinoma during an average follow-up of over 6 years among patients treated with nonablative fractional laser therapy and a 40.4% rate of recurrence among the control group. When controlling for age, gender, and skin type, patients in the control group were 2.65-fold more likely to develop a new facial keratinocyte carcinoma than patients treated with nonablative fractional laser therapy. Additionally, among patients who developed a facial keratinocyte carcinoma, the time to development was significantly longer in patients treated with nonablative fractional laser therapy compared with patients who did not receive the therapy.
May 24, 2023