SUPERFICIAL
RADIATION THERAPY:
New Treatment for Skin Cancer
BY NEIL ALLEN
Thomas Myers, DO, of
Summit Dermatology
in Stow, Ohio, is the
first in the region
to offer a new non-
surgical option for
non-melanoma skin
cancer — Superficial
Radiation Therapy
(SRT).
SKIN CANCER IS the leading form of cancer in the US, and the
incidence is increasing as the aging population grows. Consider
some facts:
+ Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer
1
than the
combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung
and colon.
2
+ Over the past three decades, more people have had skin cancer
than all other cancers combined.
3
+ One out of five Americans will develop skin cancer.
4
Of the more than 6 million people in the US su€ering from the
disease in 2016, over 5.4 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer
were treated in more than 3.3 million people.
1
Basal cell carcinoma
(BCC) is the most common form of skin cancer
6
in the US with more
than 4 million cases diagnosed each year,
1
followed by squamous
cell carcinoma with more than 1 million cases diagnosed annually.
1
Until recently, the primary treatment for non-melanoma skin
cancer was surgical intervention, with Mohs micrographic
surgery considered to be the "gold standard." However, non-
surgical alternatives do exist and are increasingly in need as the
prevalence of skin cancer continues to increase and the number
of Mohs surgeons is limited.
PHOTO
©
KEN
LOVE
PHOTOGRAPHY,
COPLEY,
OH
1 2❱❱❱❱❱ C L I N I C A L S P O T L I G H T
