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Actinic Lentigines

Actinic lentigines ("liver spots," "sun spots," or "age spots") are small, gray-brown spots that appear on the wrists, backs of the hands, forearms, and face.

Actinic lentigines are not a type of skin cancer, do not progress to become skin cancer, and do not require any treatment. But rapid change in one of these spots could be caused by another problem, such as lentigo maligna, a type of melanoma.

There are treatments to remove or reduce actinic lentigines, if desired.

Last Revised: April 27, 2011

Author: Healthwise Staff

Medical Review: William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine & H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine

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