title: Clinical presentation of actinic keratoses and squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Actinic keratosis is a skin lesion that can progress to squamous cell carcinoma but cannot always be clinically distinguished from a squamous cell carcinoma.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this article is to describe the clinical presentation of actinic keratoses and squamous cell carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  The author's clinical experience and a review of the literature were used to describe actinic keratoses and squamous cell carcinoma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There is a continuum and a progression from actinic keratoses to squamous cell carcinoma so that there is no way to reliably distinguish between the two diagnoses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Because it can be impossible to distinguish between an actinic keratosis and squamous cell carcinoma, treatment of actinic keratoses should be aggressive to stop the progression to squamous cell carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: University of California at Los Angeles and the Veterans Administration West Los Angeles Medical Center, USA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Moy
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007642:Keratosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010787:Photosensitivity Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*