Skin Cancer

UT Southwestern Medical Center’s comprehensive Skin Cancer Program offers a unique level of expertise and experience – as well as the most innovative and advanced therapies – to patients with all types and stages of skin cancer.

UT Southwestern is home to the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in North Texas. Our specialized team offers a unique level of skill and expertise – as well as innovative, science-based therapies – to people with squamous cell carcinoma. Many patients also have opportunities to take part in clinical research studies.

Expert Care for All Types of Skin Cancer

With more than 1 million cases of skin cancer diagnosed each year, it is by far the most common form of cancer in the U.S. 

Program Highlights

UT Southwestern’s Comprehensive Melanoma and Skin Cancer Program specialists offer patients a unique level of expertise and experience and the most innovative and advanced therapies.

Our experts diagnose and treat all types of skin cancer – from the most common to the very rare – and deliver the advanced screening, precise diagnostics, and pioneering treatments that are leading to better-than-ever patient outcomes. Our team works closely with patients to develop tailored care plans that are based on each person’s unique condition, overall health, and treatment goals and preferences.

Highlights of our program include:

• An integrated, multidisciplinary team that includes dermatologists, surgical and radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, pathologists, and radiologists – all of whom take a personalized, evidence-based approach to skin cancer diagnosis and care
• A focus on screening, early detection, and accurate diagnoses – all key to successful skin cancer treatment
• The most sophisticated diagnostic tools available, including highly specialized dermatopathology testing and in-house molecular profiling
• Expertise in all types of surgery to remove all types of skin cancer, including Mohs surgery, tumor excision, and regional lymph-node dissection 
• Leadership in the use of stereotactic radiosurgery – including tools such as the Gamma Knife and CyberKnife – to treat some cases of skin cancer
• Immunotherapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, which stimulate the immune system to target and kill skin cancer cells
• Targeted therapies, which use drugs to target abnormal proteins in tumor cells
• Opportunities for patients to enroll in clinical trials of promising new protocols aimed at improving skin cancer diagnoses and treatments that are not yet available to the public
• A comprehensive variety of cancer support services

Types of Skin Cancer

UT Southwestern’s specialized experts treat every type and stage of skin cancer, no matter how rare. These include:

• Melanoma: The rarest type of skin cancer, malignant melanoma accounts for the highest number of skin cancer-related deaths. It can occur anywhere on the body and isn’t confined to skin that’s exposed to the sun.
• Basal cell carcinoma: The most common type of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma doesn’t typically spread to other parts of the body, but it can grow deeply into the skin and bone.
• Merkel cell carcinoma: A very rare form of skin cancer that typically presents as a single painless lump on sun-exposed skin.
• Squamous cell carcinoma: Often beginning as colored spots on the skin, squamous cell carcinomas can grow quickly and spread to the lymph nodes.
• Adnexal tumors, such as sebaceous carcinoma: These complex tumors originate in hair follicles and sweat glands.
• Keratoacanthoma: These complex tumors usually appear as red, fast-growing, dome-shaped bumps with craters in the middle. 

Leading-Edge Therapies, Sensitive Care

The skin cancer specialists at UT Southwestern offer some of the most advanced medical and surgical treatments available for skin cancer.

Unique to UT Southwestern, our surgical oncologists and plastic surgeons can, in many cases, perform skin cancer resection surgery and reconstruction surgery on the same day, allowing patients to have their cancers removed and their bodies restored in one visit.

(Our dermatologists perform minimally invasive procedures such as Mohs surgery, which typically does not necessitate the need for reconstructive surgery.) 

We are sensitive to the emotional impact that skin cancer can have on patients’ lives, and we strive to minimize any visible reminders of the disease.

Our goal is to restore the overall well-being of every patient we treat.

Clinical Trials

As one of the top U.S. academic medical centers, UT Southwestern takes part in a wide range of clinical trials aimed at improving the outcomes of patients with skin cancer.

Our patients have access to a number of clinical trials of promising new treatments not yet available at many other centers. Talk with our doctors to learn more about our current clinical trials.