What they are saying here is that Lidocaine, a topical anesthetic has shown the ability to kill cancer cells at the locations specified. Technically they activate self-death in the cells, but it's the same thing, in a practical sense.
Squamous cells: These are flat cells in the upper (outer) part of the epidermis, which are constantly shed as new ones form. When these cells grow out of control, they can develop into squamous cell skin cancer (also called squamous cell carcinoma).
Apoptosis - death of cells.
The current procedure is to simply cut away the cancerous cells. I know, I've had 2 removed. One was on my middle right finger and due to its location, I had to see a surgeon that specialized in hands. Hands are complex and since my career requires full movement (typing), it was important for me to maintain 100% motion, which I do.
When it can't be cut away, it's Chemo, which is almost as bad as the problem.
This would be a great thing if it proves out, reliably. Treating cancers in the nasal passages, for example, is very tough.
Note: I'm not a doctor, I just work with them, and personally experienced these types of cancers this twice in my life, albeit in more easily treatable locations.
They do. They look something like a mole, but not dark.
They are commonly a slightly more redish version of your current skin color and it's a literal bump on your skin. One of the things I noticed is they have a bumpy outer appearance. Like the little dots on a basketball. As they grow, they get taller and wider.
It was tiny at first and I just ignored it. About 3-4 months into it, it was larger and didn't appear to be going away, so I did a doc visit. They took a sample and tested it. It was POS for cancerous cells. Next up was treatment, but again, in my case, it was a fairly straight-forward, keep cutting until we get it all.
The finger was a little different in that the mass was large enough that it required a skin graft from my forearm to fully close the removal site.
The skin graft now, is about 1/2 across and about an inch long. I think the reason for this is if they had just closed it, the skin would have been tight and would likely have restricted movement.
Squamous cells: These are flat cells in the upper (outer) part of the epidermis, which are constantly shed as new ones form. When these cells grow out of control, they can develop into squamous cell skin cancer (also called squamous cell carcinoma).
Apoptosis - death of cells.
The current procedure is to simply cut away the cancerous cells. I know, I've had 2 removed. One was on my middle right finger and due to its location, I had to see a surgeon that specialized in hands. Hands are complex and since my career requires full movement (typing), it was important for me to maintain 100% motion, which I do.
When it can't be cut away, it's Chemo, which is almost as bad as the problem.
This would be a great thing if it proves out, reliably. Treating cancers in the nasal passages, for example, is very tough.
Note: I'm not a doctor, I just work with them, and personally experienced these types of cancers this twice in my life, albeit in more easily treatable locations.