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Mass General research finds simple laser treatments may help prevent skin cancer

By Mallika Marshall, MD

January 19, 2023 / 5:29 PM EST / CBS Boston

MGH research finds simple laser treatments may help prevent skin cancer

BOSTON – A Mass General Hospital study found that simple laser treatments may help prevent skin cancer.

The research includes basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas which are the most common types of cancer diagnosed in the United States, and patients who get them often continue to grow new ones over time.

Researchers at Mass General studied 43 patients who had been treated for these types of skin cancers on the face and found that those who were then treated with lasers, currently used to treat scars, sun-damaged skin, and age spots, were at almost half the risk of getting a subsequent cancer on their face over six years.

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Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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