Surgery kept skin cancer away better than two light-based treatments in this trial.

Skin cancer can return after treatment, leaving patients worried about what works best. This trial compared surgery against two light-based therapies for Bowen's disease. The researchers tracked 250 patients across multiple centers to see who stayed cancer-free the longest. Four years after treatment, surgery kept 97.5 percent of patients tumor-free. The two light-based options, using 5-fluorouracil and methylaminolevulinate, showed lower success rates at 86.2 percent and 82.7 percent respectively. The study also looked at the risk of developing a new, more serious skin cancer called cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. None of the patients developed this new cancer in the treated area. One patient did have their cancer come back five years after the light treatment. The researchers noted that 23.2 percent of patients were lost to follow-up. This means some data might be missing, which adds uncertainty to the long-term picture. Despite this gap, the results clearly show surgery remained the most reliable option for keeping the skin clear of tumors.