The Skin Cancer Foundation, the leading nonprofit organization for public and professional skin cancer education, has launched Carcinomas & Keratoses. This new digital publication sheds light on the most recent and important developments in keratinocyte cancers and pre-cancers, including basal cell carcinoma (BCC), cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), and actinic keratosis (AK). Featuring content written by expert dermatologists and The Skin Cancer Foundation’s editorial team, coverage includes new strategies for early detection and diagnosis to breakthrough treatments for advanced basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.
“I see this publication as a golden opportunity to help a broad range of professionals provide the best care possible to patients who have or are at risk for skin cancer,” says Désirée Ratner, MD, editor-in-chief of Carcinomas & Keratoses and a clinical professor of dermatology at NYU Langone Health. “We want to provide current, relevant, accessible information to medical professionals on key issues related to the keratinocyte cancers and precancers, from epidemiology, pathogenesis, and prevention to detection, diagnosis, and treatment.”
The publication will live on its own platform, carcinomasandkeratoses.org, where professionals are encouraged to sign up to regularly receive new issues. In the inaugural issue, Mark Teich, The Skin Cancer Foundation’s scientific director, and Kishwer Nehal, MD, discuss what keratinocyte carcinomas are and why they deserve to be taken more seriously. According to the latest figures, in 2019, more than twice as many people (over 15,000) will die from cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in the United States than from melanoma (7,230). Nonmelanoma skin cancers make up the vast majority of skin cancer incidence but seem to receive the least attention. At last count, compared with 96,480 cases of invasive melanoma each year in the United States, there are over 5.4 million cases of basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma each year, occurring in more than 3.3 million people.
“We recognized a gap in knowledge that needed to be filled,” says Deborah S. Sarnoff, MD, president of The Skin Cancer Foundation. “For many years, our Melanoma Letter has offered physicians the latest research and treatment techniques for melanoma. With C&K, we’re drastically expanding the topics we can cover. Our goal is to present this information in a way that appeals not only to dermatologists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners who treat skin cancer, but also to internists and specialty practitioners who are often on the periphery of skin cancer detection and treatment. This is also a wonderful resource for medical students and dermatology residents.”