# Benign, Uncertain, or Carcinoma-in-Situ Skin Neoplasm

- Category: chronic
- Review status: reviewed (every claim checked against a document named on this page)
- Sources: ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) - condition scope only, no dose · No dose - no medicine is given for this in primary care · Seborrheic Keratosis - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545285/
- Verified date: 2026-08

## Verified against

- No dose - no medicine is given for this in primary care

## Treatment metadata

- No drug therapy in primary care (Assessment & Advice)

## Complete treatment card

```text
BENIGN, UNCERTAIN, OR CARCINOMA-IN-SITU SKIN NEOPLASM
Sources: ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) - condition scope
         only, no dose · No dose - no medicine is given for this in primary care · Seborrheic
         Keratosis - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545285/
Review status: REVIEWED against the source listed above  (2026-08)

IS IT THIS? - reference only, to read alongside your own examination
  SYMPTOMS - what the patient reports (3)
    - Usually causes no symptoms at all
    - Itching or mild pain when a lesion is inflamed or chafed by clothing  [itching]
    - Burning and itching in old lesions that flare up during chemotherapy  [itching · skin lesions]
  SIGNS - what you find (7)
    - Dull, waxy, warty surface giving a stuck-on look
    - Color ranges from light to dark brown, yellow, or grey
    - Spares the palms, soles, and mucous membranes
    - Tends to cluster on the face, scalp, trunk, underarm folds, arms, and legs
    - Lesions on the back can form a Christmas-tree pattern along Blaschko lines  [skin lesions]
    - Stucco variant shows small white fine papules on the feet and ankles  [papules]
    - Dermatosis papulosa nigra shows brown to black facial and neck papules that increase with age
      [papules]
  TESTS (3)
    - Diagnosis is made by examining the lesion, not by lab testing
    - Dermoscopy can show comedo-like openings, milia-like cysts, and hairpin vessels
    - Biopsy is reserved for lesions that are ulcerated, rapidly enlarging, or very large
  IF NOT THIS - what else fits (5)
    - Malignant melanoma, including collision tumors that mimic the stuck-on look
    - Pigmented actinic keratosis, basal cell carcinoma, or squamous cell carcinoma on sun-exposed
      facial skin
    - Epidermal nevus or acanthosis nigricans can resemble the lesion
    - Common warts (verruca vulgaris) can closely resemble hyperkeratotic lesions
    - Genital or perineal stuck-on lesions may actually be condyloma acuminata
  Source  StatPearls "Seborrheic Keratosis" - disease-level clinical article
  Status  traced to the source above

1. NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (ASSESSMENT & ADVICE)  [1st line]
   Adult    Broad category covering benign skin growths, premalignant lesions, and skin tags where
            histology is not yet available or malignancy is uncertain; the GP manages reassurance
            and removal of simple lesions such as skin tags, while referring anything with a
            suspicious feature for biopsy. - Assessment and advice
   Peds     Children follow the same pathway: assessment, explanation and follow-up. No primary-care
            medicine is implied.
   Source   No dose - no medicine is given for this in primary care
   Why      Broad category covering benign skin growths, premalignant lesions, and skin tags where
            histology is not yet available or malignancy is uncertain; the GP manages reassurance
            and removal of simple lesions such as skin tags, while referring anything with a
            suspicious feature for biopsy.
   Caution  No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care. The value of the consultation is
            recognition, explanation and follow-up, and referral if the red flags above appear.
            RED FLAG - A lesion that is changing, bleeding, ulcerating or growing rapidly may be
            malignant and needs referral rather than reassurance.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.
```

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