Abstract
Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most common type of malignancy in the Caucasian population and is four times more common than any other cancer in the UK. One in four men and one in six women will develop a non-melanoma skin cancer in their lifetime. Mortality from nonmelanoma skin cancer is rare, but tends to be from local or regional disease. Distant metastasis is rare with the exception of Merkel cell carcinoma. The majority of non-melanoma skin cancers can be cured by adequate initial surgical management. High-risk and complex non-melanoma skin cancer may be challenging to manage, and must be carried out through a skin cancer multidisciplinary team (MDT).
The majority of non-melanoma skin cancers occur in the skin of the head and neck. However, their clinical behaviours do not mirror that of head and neck mucosal malignancies. In order to optimise management and outcomes, all nonmelanoma skin cancers (with the exception of specifically defined low-risk basal cell carcinoma (BCC)) should be managed by core members of a skin cancer MDT.
This chapter will describe the recommendations for the investigation and management of non-melanoma skin cancer, drawing on guidelines produced by the British Association of Dermatologists. These are recommended reading, as they are accepted as the national guidelines for the management of non-melanoma skin cancer and are mandated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).