In this material, we will analyze in detail the causes of seborrheic keratosis, its varieties, possible health difficulties, methods of treatment and prevention. To facilitate understanding: seborrheic keratosis and keratoma will be used as synonyms in the future.

Seborrheic keratosis/keratoma is one of the most common benign tumors of human skin. It usually develops in old age due to the proliferation of the epidermis with pronounced keratinization. [1]

The epidermis is the top layer of the skin that is constantly exfoliated and completely changes within about two weeks. Its thickness ranges from 0.07 to 1.4 mm. Thus, it becomes clear that keratoma is a very superficial formation. Despite the fact that the foci of seborrheic keratosis can be very large in area, they do not penetrate into the depth of the skin.

Most often keratomas are formed on: the trunk, neck, head. Seborrheic keratosis on the skin of the extremities is quite rare, but it is not worth saying that it does not happen there.

Who has keratomas more often?

It is noted that most often these formations appear in people older than 30 years [2]. According to this Australian study [3], 12% of patients aged 15 to 25 years had an average of 6 keratomas on the skin.

The appearance of a keratoma largely depends on the age of its existence.

In the initial stage, this formation protrudes very slightly above the skin level, differs slightly from it in density and has a color very close to the body. The shape of the foci is round or oval.

Then, as the number of epidermal cells in the formation increases, the keratoma increases in thickness and in height. These formations are visible to the naked eye – mili-like cysts and comedon-like spots.

One of the most common symptoms for keratoma, visible to the naked eye, is a surface that somewhat resembles the earth, cracked after rain. Such a pattern is formed by layers consisting of keratinized cells of the epidermis.

Leser-Trel syndrome
You can talk about this syndrome when a person suddenly has a lot of keratomas, especially on the trunk. In 35% of cases, this condition is associated with black acanthosis. About 50% of patients report severe itching in the keratoma area. [4]

In addition to the clinical form – on a broad basis – there is a form of seborrheic keratosis on the leg. The human papillomavirus has a very distant relation to this form of keratoma. Only in isolated cases, during histological examination of such formations, there were indications of signs of a viral lesion.

The Leser-Trel syndrome may indicate the presence of malignant tumors of internal organs, according to some reports - late stages. Most often we are talking about adenocarcinomas of the stomach, colon, breast cancer, lymphoma or leukemia. The average life expectancy of patients with this syndrome is 11 months. [4]

This means that if multiple keratomas appeared gradually and have been present on the trunk for many years – most likely, this syndrome is not in question.

Some researchers question the existence of the syndrome. This is due to the fact that these malignant tumors are more common in older patients, as well as seborrheic keratosis itself.

Keratoma treatment

It is considered that it is not necessary to treat seborrheic keratosis, because the nature of this disease is benign. Nevertheless, the removal of foci can be indicated to exclude malignancy in cases where the clinical examination data are ambiguous. Regular traumatization, for example by clothing, can lead to inflammation, bleeding and itching and be a reason for removal.

Ways to remove keratomas:

• laser;
• electrocoagulation;
• the method of razor excision.

Whatever method of removal is recommended to you, it should be carried out with a histological examination, since in some cases it is possible to catch a malignant tumor at an early stage. Here are some studies:

1. In 1.4–4.4% of cases, squamous cell carcinoma in situ is detected against the background of seborrheic keratosis [5,6]. Squamous cell carcinoma on the background of seborrheic keratosis. [11]
2. 43 cases of basal cell carcinoma, 6 – squamous cell carcinoma, 2 melanomas on the background of seborrheic keratosis. [9]
3. 3 cases of melanoma on the background of keratoma. [7,8,10]

There are reports that the external use of vitamin D analogues can be effective. [12] Systemic (oral administration) of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 at a dose of 0.5 mcg / day in multiple seborrheic keratosis may have a certain effect. [13] External administration of the drug "Tazaroten" has also shown its effectiveness in almost 50% of patients. [14]

Prevention of seborrheic keratosis is to protect against excessive exposure to sunlight. Unfortunately, there are no other methods of prevention, because, alas, we cannot influence our age. The situation is similar with heredity. The role of HPV in the development of keratomas is not so convincingly proven to prescribe preventive treatment.

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