What is actinic keratosis?. Actinic keratosis is a scaly spot found on sun-damaged skin. It is also known as solar keratosis. It is considered precancerous or an early form of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (a keratinocyte cancer).. Who gets actinic keratoses?. Actinic keratoses affect people that have often lived in the tropics or subtropics and have predisposing factors such as: