A European Consensus on the Consistent Use of the Term “Keratinocyte Cancer”
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2340/actadv.v104.40601Keywords:
consensus, keratinocyte cancer, non-melanoma skin cancer, actinic keratosis, squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinomaAbstract
Keratinocyte-derived skin cancers comprise basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, its precursor actinic keratosis, and Bowen’s disease. Historically, this group of neoplasms has been subsumed under the term non-melanoma skin cancer. However, the term non-melanoma skin cancer can be misleading and lacks precision. Therefore, more precise and reasonable terminology, valuing the relevance of keratinocyte-derived cancer, appears pertinent to meet its clinical and scientific significance. A group of experienced dermato-oncologists initiated a consensus approach to promote the use of the term “keratinocyte cancer” instead of “non-melanoma skin cancer” when referring to carcinomas and their precursors that are derived from keratinocytes. The vote among members of the consensus group indicated unanimous agreement on the consistent use of the term “keratinocyte cancer” instead of “non-melanoma skin cancer”. International delegates also voted in favour of the revised terminology. The more precise and, by means of etiopathogenesis, correct term “keratinocyte cancer” should be consistently used for malignancies originated from keratinocytes. This is expected to have a positive impact on patient–physician communication and gives better justice to this important group of keratinocyte-derived cancers.
Downloads
References
Lomas A, Leonardi-Bee J, Bath-Hextall F. A systematic review of worldwide incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer. Br J Dermatol 2012; 166: 1069-1080.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.2012.10830.x
Philipp-Dormston WG, Müller K, Novak B, Strömer K, Termeer C, Hammann U, et al. Patient-reported health outcomes in patients with non-melanoma skin cancer and actinic keratosis: results from a large-scale observational study analysing effects of diagnoses and disease progression. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2018; 32: 1138-1146.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.14703
Krebs in Deutschland für 2017/2018. 13. Ausgabe. Robert Koch-Institut (Hrsg) und die Gesellschaft der epidemiologischen Krebsregister in Deutschland e.V. (Hrsg). Berlin, 2021.
Katalinic A, Kunze U, Schäfer T. Epidemiology of cutaneous melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany: incidence, clinical subtypes, tumour stages and localization (epidemiology of skin cancer). Br J Dermatol 2003; 149: 1200-1206.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.2003.05554.x
Holm AS, Nissen CV, Wulf HC. Basal cell carcinoma is as common as the sum of all other cancers: implications for treatment capacity. Acta Derm Venereol 2016; 96: 505-509.
https://doi.org/10.2340/00015555-2282
Horn LR, Wansing H. Negation. In: Zalta EN, Nodelman U, editors. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2022 Edition). The Metaphysics Research Lab, Philosophy Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Ackrill J. Aristotle's Categories and De Interpretatione. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963.
https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780198720867.book.1
Plato. The Sophist, B. Jowett, trans. New York: Random House, 1937.
National Healthcare System. Skin-cancer-non-melanoma. [Cited 8 Mar 2024] Available from: https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/cancer/cancer-types-in-adults/skin-cancer-non-melanoma/#about-non-melanoma-skin-cancer
Amaral T, Garbe C. Non-melanoma skin cancer: new and future synthetic drug treatments. Expert Opin Pharmacother 2017; 18: 689-699.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14656566.2017.1316372
Cancer Council Australia Keratinocyte Cancers Guideline Working Party. Clinical practice guidelines for keratinocyte cancer. Sydney: Cancer Council Australia. [Version URL: https://wiki.cancer.org.au/australiawiki/index.php?oldid=213931, cited 2023 Oct 25]. Available from: https://wiki.cancer.org.au/australia/Guidelines:Keratinocyte_carcinoma.
Gupta G, Dirschka T. Squamous cell carcinoma and its precursors. In: Griffiths C, Barker J, Bleiker T, Chalmers R, Creamer D, editors. Rook's Textbook of Dermatology. 9th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2016.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Wolfgang G. Philipp-Dormston, Lasse R. Braathen, Colin A. Morton, Merete Haedersdal, Yolanda Gilaberte, Nicole Basset-Seguin, Elena Sotiriou, Stine Regin Wiegell, Piergiacomo Calzavara-Pinton, Thomas Dirschka, Hans Christian Wulf, Günther Hofbauer, Rolf Markus Szeimies
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All digitalized ActaDV contents is available freely online. The Society for Publication of Acta Dermato-Venereologica owns the copyright for all material published until volume 88 (2008) and as from volume 89 (2009) the journal has been published fully Open Access, meaning the authors retain copyright to their work.
Unless otherwise specified, all Open Access articles are published under CC-BY-NC licences, allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for non-commercial purposes, provided proper attribution to the original work.