There are three major types of skin cancers: basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and melanoma.

- BCC is by far the most common. It is almost never fatal, but unlimited growth is the reason for early intervention.

- SCC is more aggressive than BCC and may be preceded by “actinic keratosis”, a frequently encountered premalignant condition. It is worthwhile to identify this condition, for which topical treatment is available.

- Melanoma, a rare but dangerous skin cancer, resembles a mole, but does not necessarily emerge from an existing one. Self-monitoring is important for early detection of a possibly (pre)cancerous growth or spot. We only recommend routine skin cancer screening to certain high-risk individuals (melanoma in history and/or family, a large number of irregular moles).

Limited accuracy of a clinical diagnosis based on history taking, inspection and dermoscopy* readily results in false reassurance and may negatively influence patients’ skin surveillance behavior. A skin biopsy, a procedure to remove a sample of skin tissue for pathology (analyzing a tissue sample under a microscope), is always needed to rule out (pre)malignancy. An excisional biopsy or cutting out the entire lesion with a necessary margin is performed whenever possible.

* a technique to look underneath the skin surface using polarized light