Actinic Keratosis and Dermal Elastotic Degeneration

Abstract

The relationship between histopathological types and the degree of dermal elastotic degeneration was examined in 69 actinic keratoses (AKs) excised from 59 patients. Elastotic degeneration of AKs was compared to that of 25 seborrheic keratoses (Seb-Ks) excised from the faces of age-matched controls. The degree of elastotic degeneration of AKs was severer than that of Seb-Ks. Hypertrophic AKs exhibited a severe elastotic degeneration in uninvolved regions, but only a mild degeneration in involved regions. On the other hand, atrophic AKs showed a severe elastotic degeneration in both the involved and uninvolved regions. These results suggest that sun exposure is one of the most important factors in inducing AKs, and that other individual factors (e. g., skin type, aging) may also be involved, and finally that elastotic degeneration is repairable.