What is lentigo caused by?
What is lentigo caused by?
Most types of lentigo are caused by sun or radiation exposure. Lentigo is most common in middle-aged or older people. Solar lentigo is caused by sun exposure and is often referred to as age spots or liver spots. Solar lentigo commonly appears in sun-exposed parts of your body.
Can you get rid of solar lentigo?
What treatments are available for solar lentigo? If left untreated, solar lentigo will most likely persist indefinitely. Cryotherapy and laser surgery can destroy them, but treatment may leave a temporary or permanent white or dark mark. Bleaching agents such as hydroquinone are not effective.
What does solar lentigo look like?
Solar lentigines (len-TIJ-ih-neez) are flat spots of increased pigmentation. They are usually tan, brown or dark brown and darker than freckles. Solar lentigines have oval to round shapes and vary in size. They usually appear on areas most exposed to the sun, such as the scalp, face, hands, arms and upper trunk.
What does a lentigo look like?
The visual symptoms of lentigo maligna melanoma are very similar to those of lentigo maligna. Both look like a flat or slightly raised brown patch, similar to a freckle or age spot. They have a smooth surface and an irregular shape. While they’re usually a shade of brown, they can also be pink, red, or white.
How is senile lentigo treated?
To lighten or remove lentigines, your dermatologist might recommend one of these treatments:
- medicines such as bleaching creams containing hydroquinone or retinoids (tretinoin)
- chemical peels.
- laser or intense pulse light therapy to destroy melanocytes.
- freezing (cryotherapy) to destroy melanocytes.
Can solar lentigo become cancerous?
Lentigo maligna starts as a brown flat spot with an irregular shape that slowly gets bigger. Eventually the spot may develop into melanoma, a type of skin cancer that begins in the top layer of skin and then invades the underlying skin layer.
How do you stop solar lentigines?
To prevent solar lentigines, avoid exposure to sunlight in midday (10 AM to 3 PM), wear sun-protective clothing (tightly woven clothes and hats), and apply sunscreen (SPF 30 UVA and UVB block).
Can lentigo maligna regress?
These skin lesions grow radially and may grow/regress in a pattern that makes the LM/LMM appear to “move across” the skin [1, 3]. The skin surrounding the LM/LMM may also show signs of chronic solar damage [solar elastosis, solar lentigines, actinic keratosis (AK)].
Is lentigo maligna a maligna melanoma?
Overview. Lentigo maligna is a subtype of melanoma in situ that is characterized by an atypical proliferation of melanocytes within the basal epidermis; lentigo maligna that invades the dermis is termed lentigo maligna melanoma.
What is the best treatment for solar lentigines?
Conclusions Laser therapy is superior to liquid nitrogen for the treatment of solar lentigines. Of the laser systems tested in this study, the frequency-doubled Q-switched Nd:YAG laser is the most effective.
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