Symptoms and Clinical Features
Actinic keratosis
Actinic keratoses can vary in appearance, and symptoms may include:
- Texture Changes: Rough, dry, or scaly patches on the skin.
- Size: Typically less than 2.5 cm in diameter.
- Elevation: Flat to slightly raised patches or bumps.
- Surface: In some cases, a hard, wart-like surface.
- Color: Variations including pink, red, or brown.
- Sensation: Itching, burning, bleeding, or crusting.
- Location: New patches or bumps commonly appear on sun-exposed areas such as the head, neck, hands, and forearms.
Actinic keratoses are often found in clusters on sun-exposed areas. They may present as flat or thickened papules or plaques with a white, yellow, scaly, warty, or horny surface. AKs are sometimes graded based on their severity:
Grade 1: Mild, pink or grey marks with slight scaling.
Grade 2: Moderate, thicker hyperkeratosis.
Grade 3: Severe, thick keratin buildup.
Grade 4: Confluent areas with mixed grades of AK.
