Reflectance confocal microscopy for noninvasive monitoring of therapy and detection of subclinical actinic keratoses.

Background: Actinic keratoses (AK) represent cutaneous carcinoma in situ and have previously been evaluated by reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM). Treatment of AK with imiquimod (IMIQ) 5% cream has been shown to 'highlight' subclinical lesions.

Objective: The aim of this study was to test the applicability of RCM for noninvasive monitoring of actinic field cancerization and detection of subclinical AK.