Actinic cheilitis (also known as farmer's lip or sailor's lip) represents confluent actinic keratoses on the lips, most often the lower lip. Like discrete actinic keratoses, actinic cheilitis is also a premalignant condition related to cumulative lifetime sun exposure. It is significantly more common in men, elderly patients, and patients with light skin phototypes.
Individuals with actinic cheilitis often present with complaints of persistent dryness and cracking of the lips. They will frequently exhibit other cutaneous manifestations of sun damage (eg, actinic keratoses, poikiloderma of Civatte, actinic comedones).
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) develops in 10%-30% of cases of actinic cheilitis.
Actinic cheilitis - Oral Mucosal Lesion
Alerts and Notices
Important News & Links
Synopsis
Codes
ICD10CM:
K13.0 – Diseases of lips
SNOMEDCT:
46795000 – Actinic cheilitis
K13.0 – Diseases of lips
SNOMEDCT:
46795000 – Actinic cheilitis
Look For
Subscription Required
Diagnostic Pearls
Subscription Required
Differential Diagnosis & Pitfalls
To perform a comparison, select diagnoses from the classic differential
Subscription Required
Best Tests
Subscription Required
Management Pearls
Subscription Required
Therapy
Subscription Required
References
Subscription Required
Last Reviewed:11/02/2020
Last Updated:11/02/2020
Last Updated:11/02/2020
Patient Information for Actinic cheilitis - Oral Mucosal Lesion
Premium Feature
VisualDx Patient Handouts
Available in the Elite package
- Improve treatment compliance
- Reduce after-hours questions
- Increase patient engagement and satisfaction
- Written in clear, easy-to-understand language. No confusing jargon.
- Available in English and Spanish
- Print out or email directly to your patient
Upgrade Today
Actinic cheilitis - Oral Mucosal Lesion