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REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1518633
This article is part of the Research Topic Immunology and Immunotherapy of Skin Cancer View all 10 articles

From actinic keratosis to cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: the key pathogenesis and treatments

Provisionally accepted
Zhenlin Li Zhenlin Li 1Fangqi Lu Fangqi Lu 1*Fujin Zhou Fujin Zhou 1*Dekun Song Dekun Song 1Lunhui Chang Lunhui Chang 1Weiying Liu Weiying Liu 2*Guorong Yan Guorong Yan 1*Guolong Zhang Guolong Zhang 1*
  • 1 Shanghai Dermatology Hospital, Shanghai, China
  • 2 Hunan Aerospace Hospital, Changsha, Hunan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common non-melanoma skin cancer, among which 82% arise from actinic keratosis (AK) characterized by lesions of epidermal keratinocyte dysplasia. It is of great significance to uncover the progression mechanisms from AK to cSCC, which will facilitate the early therapeutic intervention of AK before malignant transformation. Thus, more and more studies are trying to ascertain the potential transformation mechanisms through multi-omics, including genetics, transcriptomics, and epigenetics. In this review, we gave an overview of the specific biomarkers and signaling pathways that may be involved in the pathogenesis from AK to cSCC, pointing out future possible molecular therapies for the early intervention of AK and cSCC. We also discussed current interventions on AK and cSCC, together with future perspectives.

    Keywords: Actinic keratosis, Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, progression, malignant transformation, skin cancers, Non-melanoma skin cancers

    Received: 28 Oct 2024; Accepted: 09 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Li, Lu, Zhou, Song, Chang, Liu, Yan and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Fangqi Lu, Shanghai Dermatology Hospital, Shanghai, China
    Fujin Zhou, Shanghai Dermatology Hospital, Shanghai, China
    Weiying Liu, Hunan Aerospace Hospital, Changsha, 410205, Hunan Province, China
    Guorong Yan, Shanghai Dermatology Hospital, Shanghai, China
    Guolong Zhang, Shanghai Dermatology Hospital, Shanghai, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.