Common skin cancers and their precursors.

This review of precancerous and cancerous skin lesions serves as an overview for the general surgeon in clinical practice. Because these lesions are common in the general population, it is likely that they will be encountered frequently, perhaps even during consultation for an unrelated issue. General surgeons have a unique role in caring for these common skin cancers both primarily and by understanding the basis for referral to a specialist. With these goals in mind, we discuss the pathophysiology of cutaneous malignancy as well as the diagnosis and treatment of the three most common cutaneous malignancies in the United States: basal cell, squamous cell, and melanoma skin cancers.