Systemic Therapies for Advanced Basal Cell and Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinomas: Novel Targeted Therapies and Immunotherapies

Nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSC), basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) are the most common malignancies worldwide with a prevalence of epidemic proportions and continually rising global incidence rates, associated with increased morbidity rates and significant economic burden of their management. Although treatable cancers with low rates of metastasis and mortality, NMSCs reach an incurable state in small proportion of patients, becoming advanced, unresectable, or metastatic. Until recent years, patients with these conditions were considered for palliative radiotherapy and/or classical chemotherapies, which offer modest clinical benefit. Based on better understanding of the pathogenesis of these cancers, novel targeted therapies have been developed. We review novel systemic approaches for the treatment of aggressive forms of BCCs and cSCCs, with special emphasis on approved targeted molecular therapies and immunotherapies.