As in C&E, cryotherapy leaves an open wound that takes three to ten weeks to heal. The wound may "weep" for two or three weeks after the procedure. Antibiotic creams or ointments are often used to avoid infection. Nodular, superficial BCC and noninvasive SCC can usually be treated effectively with cryotherapy.
Radiation Treatment with radiation has a reported cure rate of 89 to 95 percent. Various programs
include one to five doses.
Radiation is useful for older people who cannot tolerate surgery, for multiple lesions or large superficial lesions and for lesions that are too inaccessible to be removed surgically. It is particularly useful in lesions of the eyelids, nose, lips and ears. It can also be used as a palliative measure rather than for cure on excessively large cancers.
It should not be used for patients under 50 years old because of the possibility of causing new cancers at the radiation site. Treated areas become inflamed (acute radiation dermatitis). This resolves in four to six weeks, but results in loss of skin pigment and thinning, which may worsen in time. Therefore, long-term cosmetic results may not be as good as with other treatments. Another major risk is that recurrences may be more difficult to wipe out.
For patients over 50, radiation therapy can be used to treat nodular, superficial BCC and all SCC. It is primarily used for patients with multiple superficial lesions.
