"A new prescription gel may quickly treat a common precancerous skin https condition called actinic keratosis https a new study shows. The gel is derived from the sap of the Euphorbia peplus plant. This has long been used as a folk remedy for skin lesions. The new findings are published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Actinic keratoses are typically red scaly skin lesions that can over time develop into a type of skin cancer https They can often be found on sunexposed areas of the body such as the face scalp arms and legs. The new gel Picato ingenol mebutate is applied once daily for two or three days depending on the area being treated. Other available topical treatments must be used for several weeks and often irritate the skin. Cryotherapy or freezing the affected skin area is also used but can sometimes leave a scar. Because the new gel is only used for a few days any irritation is usually shortlived. The short duration also makes people more likely to stay the course another advantage according to the studys authors. The shorter application period is what makes ingenol mebutate a breakthrough in the treatment of actinic keratosis researcher Mark Lebwohl MD says in a news release. He is a professor and chair of the department of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. The new study included  people with actinic keratoses on their face or scalp and  people with these lesions on their midsection or arms and legs. Half got the new gel and the other half received an inactive placebo https At the end of the twomonth study  of people in the first group and  of those in the second group who got the new gel showed complete clearance of their lesions. By contrast only  and  respectively of the people who received the placebo had complete clearance. The new study was funded by Picato manufacturer LEO Pharma."