What should you know about skin cancer sun spots?

Sun spots, also called solar lentigines or age spots, are flat brown or tan areas linked with accumulated ultraviolet exposure. They often appear on the face, hands, shoulders, chest, or other exposed skin. A typical sun spot is fairly even in colour and remains stable. Skin cancer can also appear as a pigmented or scaly mark, so appearance alone cannot confirm the cause. A dermatologist may examine the spot with magnification and decide whether a biopsy is needed.

Compare the mark with nearby skin and take a clear photograph in good light so changes are easier to notice. Use shade, protective clothing, and broad-spectrum sunscreen on exposed areas; this helps limit further ultraviolet injury but does not diagnose an existing spot. Do not burn, scratch, or self-treat a lesion that is uncertain. For confirmed benign sun spots, options may include a chemical peel, IPL Photofacial, picosecond laser treatment, or cryotherapy (lesion removal), selected after assessment because pigment can recur or become darker after irritation.

Arrange a prompt dermatology review if a spot is new, enlarging, changing colour or outline, persistently itchy, tender, bleeding, crusting, or failing to heal. Seek more urgent medical advice for ongoing bleeding or a rapidly changing lesion. A dark patch on skin or uneven skin tone can have many explanations, and neither symptom by itself identifies cancer; examination is the safe way to separate harmless sun damage from a concerning lesion.

Ask: Does this look like a sun spot or another lesion? Do I need dermoscopy or a biopsy? Which sun-protection habits fit my skin? If it is benign, which treatment is least likely to irritate surrounding skin? How should I monitor it and when should I return?