What types of skin cancer are there?

Light (non-melanoma) skin cancer, meaning basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma, known as black skin cancer.

Who is at increased risk?

Anyone who has had frequent sunburn, has cases of skin cancer in their own family or has a large number of moles. The sun terraces, the areas of skin most exposed to UV radiation, are also under particular strain.

Can skin cancer be cured?

That depends largely on how early it is detected. That is why we recommend an annual screening and check-up examination and place importance on having changes assessed as early as possible.

How often should I come for a check-up?

As a rule once a year. If skin cancer has already been found, regular follow-up examinations are added; we set their intervals with you according to the findings.

What happens if a finding is suspicious?

Then we assess it further. If it remains suspicious, it may be removed and examined under the microscope. We carry out these procedures as a rule on an outpatient basis and under local anaesthetic, and we discuss the result with you afterwards.

Skin cancer

Skin cancer is becoming more common worldwide, malignant melanoma above all. Whether it can be cured depends largely on how early it is detected. That is why we recommend annual screening and check-up examinations; after a diagnosis, follow-up is added.

Overview

There are three main forms of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, together known as non-melanoma or light skin cancer, and malignant melanoma, known as black skin cancer. Skin cancer is becoming markedly more common worldwide, and that applies in particular to malignant melanoma.

Frequent sunburn, cases of skin cancer in your own family and a large number of moles raise the risk further. In adults the so-called sun terraces are under particular strain, the places where the skin is most exposed to UV radiation: the bridge of the nose, the area around the eyes, ears, lips, chin, shoulders, back, buttocks and the tops of the feet, and in people going bald the scalp.

Children need adequate protection from the sun. In the first year of life a child should as a matter of principle not be exposed to the sun at all.

Whether skin cancer can be cured depends largely on how early it is detected. That calls for regular, annual screening and check-up examinations. They matter a great deal to us in our practice. If skin cancer is diagnosed, regular follow-up examinations are part of the treatment. This page is your way into the subject; the individual examination methods, the sun rules and self-examination are each described on their own page.

Topics in this section

Skin Cancer Screening & Skin CheckThe screening examination for the early detection of skin cancer: a whole-body examination and computer-assisted mole mapping (FotoFinder®), supplemented where needed by 20-MHz ultrasound and impedance spectroscopy (Nevisense®).Learn more →20-MHz ultrasound (skin sonography)High-resolution sonography of the skin: non-invasive and imaging. Before an operation we use it to determine how deep a tumour reaches.Learn more →Impedance spectroscopy (Nevisense®)If, after dermoscopy and ultrasound, it remains unclear whether a mole is benign, electrical impedance spectroscopy (Nevisense®) can provide an objective piece of additional information. The measurement draws no blood and is almost painless; as a rule, all you feel is the sensor touching the skin.Learn more →Sun safety rulesTen rules for dealing with the sun. They help to limit the skin's UV exposure and are part of preventing skin cancer.Learn more →Checking your own skinWith the ABCDE rule you can keep an eye on your moles yourself between screening appointments. Checking your own skin complements the dermatological examination; it does not replace it.Learn more →

Areas of application

Annual screening and check-up examination in adulthood
Frequent sunburn in the past
Cases of skin cancer in your own family
A large number of moles (pigmented naevi)
New or changing skin lesions
Follow-up after a skin cancer diagnosis that has already been made

Procedure

Prevention: protection from UV radiation
Prevention starts with protection from the sun, in children from the very beginning. Which rules we recommend for this is set out on the page on the sun rules.
Keeping an eye on your own skin
Between appointments you can observe your moles yourself. What to look out for, and when you should come in promptly, is explained on the page on self-examination.
Annual screening and check-up examination
Once a year we examine the entire skin. Which additional methods we can use in doing so is described on the page Skin Cancer Screening & Skin Check.
Assessment and treatment of suspicious findings
If a finding remains suspicious, it may be removed and examined under the microscope. We carry out these procedures in our treatment rooms, as a rule on an outpatient basis and under local anaesthetic.
Follow-up after the diagnosis
If skin cancer has been found, regular follow-up examinations are necessary alongside the treatment. We set the intervals together with you according to the findings.

What to expect

The check-up examination covers the entire skin, including the places that are hard to see.
Recommended interval: as a rule once a year.
Which methods we combine and what the health insurers cover is set out on the page Skin Cancer Screening & Skin Check.
If a removal is necessary, it is as a rule carried out on an outpatient basis and under local anaesthetic; the tissue is examined under the microscope.
After a skin cancer diagnosis, regular follow-up examinations are added.
Children should not be exposed to the sun in their first year of life; after that they need adequate sun protection.

Risks & notes

Frequent sunburn, skin cancer in the family and many moles raise the risk.
How well a skin cancer can be treated depends largely on how early it is detected.

Frequently asked questions

What types of skin cancer are there?: Light (non-melanoma) skin cancer, meaning basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma, known as black skin cancer.
Who is at increased risk?: Anyone who has had frequent sunburn, has cases of skin cancer in their own family or has a large number of moles. The sun terraces, the areas of skin most exposed to UV radiation, are also under particular strain.
Can skin cancer be cured?: That depends largely on how early it is detected. That is why we recommend an annual screening and check-up examination and place importance on having changes assessed as early as possible.
How often should I come for a check-up?: As a rule once a year. If skin cancer has already been found, regular follow-up examinations are added; we set their intervals with you according to the findings.
From what age do children need sun protection?: From the very beginning. In the first year of life a child should as a matter of principle not be exposed to the sun at all; after that it needs adequate sun protection.
What happens if a finding is suspicious?: Then we assess it further. If it remains suspicious, it may be removed and examined under the microscope. We carry out these procedures as a rule on an outpatient basis and under local anaesthetic, and we discuss the result with you afterwards.