Digitally Enhanced Methods for the Diagnosis and Monitoring of Treatment Responses in Actinic Keratoses: A New Avenue in Personalized Skin Care

Sep 21, 2026

Upload by Himbo

Non-melanocytic skin cancers pose a growing public health burden due to rising incidence and substantial local destructive potential. Early detection and management of precancerous actinic keratoses is therefore a dermatology priority. Recent advances in non-invasive skin imaging have progressed from observational tools for clinical research to practical diagnostic and monitoring methods. Multiple imaging modalities are reviewed to improve evaluation of lesions, identify those at risk for squamous cell carcinoma transformation, and refine treatment response monitoring.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

AccessFree to download

Review

Abstract

Keywords

1. Introduction

cancers Review Digitally Enhanced Methods for the Diagnosis and Monitoring of Treatment Responses in Actinic Keratoses: A New Avenue in Personalized Skin Care Cristina Soare 1, Elena Codruta Cozma 2,3,*, Ana Maria Celarel 3, Ana Maria Rosca 4, Mihai Lupu 1 and Vlad Mihai Voiculescu 1,3 Citation: Soare, C.; Cozma, E.C.; Celarel, A.M.; Rosca, A.M.; Lupu, M.; Voiculescu, V.M. Digitally Enhanced Methods for the Diagnosis and Monitoring of Treatment Responses in Actinic Keratoses: A New Avenue in Personalized Skin Care. Cancers 2024, 16, 484. [https://doi.org/10.3390/](https://doi.org/10.3390/)[ ](https://doi.org/10.3390/)cancers16030484 Received: 3 December 2023 Revised: 10 January 2024 Accepted: 17 January 2024 Published: 23 January 2024 Copyright: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) . 1 Department of Oncological Dermatology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania; [cristina.vajaitu@gmail.com](cristina.vajaitu@gmail.com) (C.S.); [lupu.g.mihai@gmai.com](lupu.g.mihai@gmai.com) (M.L.); [voiculescuvlad@yahoo.com](voiculescuvlad@yahoo.com) (V.M.V.) 2 Department of Pathophysiology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania 3 Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Elias University Emergency Hospital, 011461 Bucharest, Romania; [ana.malciu@gmail.com](ana.malciu@gmail.com) 4 Department of Dermatology, University Military Hospital “Dr. Carol Davila”, 010825 Bucharest, Romania; [anaa.rosca@gmail.com](anaa.rosca@gmail.com) * Correspondence: [codrutadobrica@gmail.com](codrutadobrica@gmail.com) Simple Summary: Actinic keratoses are lesions with a variable potential for malignant transformation, but with a difficult predictability of evolution towards this type of lesions. Non-invasive skin imaging methods represent diagnostic tools that allow a better evaluation of actinic keratoses lesions, as well as the establishment of a diagnosis with greater specificity and sensitivity. This review aims to identify all skin imaging methods that are useful in the diagnosis and monitoring of the treatment of actinickeratoses, as well as to identify those lesions at risk of transforming into squamous cell carcinoma. Abstract: Non-melanocytic skin cancers represent an important public health problem due to the increasing incidence and the important local destructive potential. Thus, the early diagnosis and treatment of precancerous lesions (actinic keratoses) is a priority for the dermatologist. In recent years, non-invasive skin imaging methods have seen an important development, moving from simple observational methods used in clinical research, to true diagnostic and treatment methods that make the dermatologist’s life easier. Given the frequency of these precancerous lesions, their location on photo-exposed areas, as well as the long treatment periods, with variable, imprecise end-points, the need to use non-invasive imaging devices is increasingly evident to complete the clinical observations in the diagnosis and treatment of these lesions, with the aim of increasing accuracy and decreasing the adverse effects due to long treatment duration. This is the first review that brings together all skin imaging methods (dermoscopy, reflectance confocal microscopy, ultrasonography, dermoscopyguided high frequency ultrasonography, and optical coherence tomography) used in the evaluation of actinic keratoses and their response to different treatment regimens. Keywords: actinic keratosis; reflectance confocal microscopy; optical coherence tomography; dermoscopy; skin imaging; dermoscopy guided high frequency ultrasonography 1. Introduction Actinic ke

FAQs

What makes actinic keratoses clinically challenging to manage?

Actinic keratoses have a variable potential for malignant transformation, making their evolution difficult to predict.

How do non-invasive skin imaging methods support diagnosis and monitoring?

They enable better evaluation of actinic keratoses and help establish diagnosis with higher specificity and sensitivity, while also supporting monitoring of treatment response.

Which imaging techniques are included in the review?

The review brings together dermoscopy, reflectance confocal microscopy, ultrasonography, dermoscopy-guided high frequency ultrasonography, and optical coherence tomography for assessing actinic keratoses and their response to treatment.

Sep 21, 2026

Upload by Himbo