[A plethora of choices: treating actinic keratoses]

Actinic keratoses are the most frequent precancerous lesions on Caucasian skin, often giving rise to squamous cell carcinomas. Appropriate prophylaxis, screening, and early intervention can substantially reduce the incidence of the latter. While isolated actinic keratoses can easily be treated by means of cryotherapy or curettage, multiple lesions often occurring on chronically sun-damaged skin demand more potent therapeutic strategies, such as topical cytostatic or immunomodulatory drugs, or photodynamic therapy. In this review, we give a practice-oriented overview on clinical manifestations, prevention, and treatment of actinic keratoses, and we emphasise the role of general practitioners in the management of this important pathology.