Overview

The commonest skin cancers are squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. These may be treated with either surgery or radiotherapy.

In skin cancers of the head-neck region, surgery is often advised to patients with small lesions that can be excised with a good margin, without the requirement of reconstructive surgery; surgery is also advised two patients who have disease involving the nasolabial region. Radiotherapy is a non-invasive alternative to surgery, the treatment course varying from three to six weeks. It is also advised after surgery incase high-risk features are noted on examination of the operative specimen.

Proton therapy allows radiotherapy to be delivered without the radiation dose spilling into any normal structures. Since spillage of those into normal structures is associated with the risk of developing side effects, both short term and long term, Proton Therapy may offer the advantage of a better-tolerated treatment and less long term side effects