NEW STUDY. The combination of curettage and cryosurgery is a safe and effective treatment method for the most common form of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma. A study from the University of Gothenburg now presents the results from testing different variants of the method.
The number of cases of skin cancer is continuing to rise sharply, in Sweden and internationally, involving high costs for a healthcare economy that is already under severe strain in many places. To further evaluate and refine effective and safe treatment methods is therefore of the utmost importance.
Internationally, surgery is mainly recommended for the most common form of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma. However, this method is time- and resource-intensive.
The faster method of curettage and cryosurgery has been used internationally since the 1960s, but has been questioned due to a lack of clearly defined treatment protocols. The effects have therefore also varied widely.
Excellent treatment results
The current study, which has been published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, applied and analyzed two different variants of the method. A total of 202 tumors were treated in 116 patients, 40 of whom were women. The median age for the group as a whole was 72.
The method involves first scraping the lesion with an instrument called a curette, followed by freezing, cryosurgery, using liquid nitrogen in a hand-held spray gun. Half the tumors were treated with one session of freezing, and the other half with two sessions of freezing. The procedures are performed using local anesthetic, and take less than five minutes.
This treatment produces a wound that takes a few weeks to heal and leaves a scar, but the method was well tolerated by patients. The results at one-year follow-up were also good: Of 202 tumors, only one recurred.
