Abstract
As skin cancers occur on sun-exposed skin, lip cancers develop on sun-damaged the lower lip, namely on chronic actinic cheilitis. The prognosis of lip cancer is worse than skin cancer, and more sophisticated ways of reconstruction may be required. Diagnosis and treatment of chronic actinic cheilitis is needed before it may progress into invasive squamous cell carcinoma.
On the basis of 24 cases we treated, clinical features, histopathology, and mode of therapy of treating chronic actinic cheilitis were discussed. When examining the lip, care should be made to check erosion, crusts, loss of plasticity, indistinct vermilion border and focal areas of whitish thickening. [Skin Cancer (Japan) 2003; 18: 118-123]
