Provided are methods of treating subclinical sun damage and of inducing a chemocytotoxic response in skin. Methods of treating subclinical sun damage include the steps of: topically administering to skin of a patient a composition comprising a chemocytotoxic agent in an amount effective to induce erythema, scaling, crusting, or combinations thereof and resolve at least a portion of the subclinical sun damage, where the skin has a condition of no clinical sign of sun damage and the patient was not previously treated for actinic keratosis or nonmelanoma skin cancer. The chemocytotoxic agent can comprise a fluorinated pyrimidine antimetabolite such as 5-fluorouracil (FU), 5-fluorouridine (FUR), 5-fluorouridine-5′-monophosphate (FUMP), 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FUdR), 5-fluorodeoxyuridine-5′-monophosphate (FdUMP), or combinations thereof.
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