Melanoma:
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| https://www.solbari.com/blogs/solbari-blog/why-should-you-use-sunscreen-everyday |
Cancer is a general term for "a collection of related diseases" (1). In the cell cycle, a healthy cell will grow, divide into daughter cells, and if something is incorrect, the cell will undergo programmed cell death. In a cancer cell, if there is a mistake, whether it's in the growth or replication of chromosomes within the cell, the cell will just continue to grow and divide rapidly (as if nothing is wrong). This rapid growth and division of abnormal cells are what cause tumors to form and if they are not treated or detected early enough, they can invade and damage surrounding tissues.
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| https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/vitiligo |
In this post, I will specifically discuss the cancer known as melanoma. The image above might be helpful in being able to visualize the parts of the skin that I am referencing. Melanoma is a type of cancer that begins in the melanocytes (which are the cells that produce melanin, which provides pigment for our skin, eyes, and hair) and has 3 different types: Cutaneous melanoma, mucosal melanoma, and ocular melanoma (2).
Cutaneous melanoma:
~ The most common form of melanoma
~ "Cutaneous" meaning skin, as in skin cancer
~ From the image below, you can see that cutaneous melanoma first appears like an abnormal and/or irregular-looking mole
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| https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra041245 |
Mucosal melanoma:
~ Melanoma that occurs in the parts of the body that contains a mucus membrane
~ Location examples include the mouth, nasal cavity (or nose), throat, etc.
~ The image below contains one example of an individual with mucosal melanoma in his or her mouth
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| https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Primary-oral-mucosal-melanoma-affecting-the-lower-gingival-and-lip-mucosa_fig1_319342373 |
Ocular melanoma:
~ Also known as uveal melanoma or choroidal melanoma
~ Found in the eye
~ Rare form of melanoma
~ As you can see in the image below, ocular melanoma can occur in different parts of the eye, such as in the iris, ciliary gland, and the choroid
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| https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/living-with-cancer-melanoma-can-begin-in-the-eye/ |
Melanoma can often be detected early compared to other cancers. Melanocytes form moles, which can sometimes indicate that melanoma is present, but not ALL moles turn into melanoma.
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| https://www.emergemedicaldayspa.com/2017/07/27/know-your-abcs/skin-cancer-chart/ |
Above, you can see how to detect if a mole is cancerous. You need to take a good look at your mole(s) or have your dermatologist take a look at it before jumping to any cancerous conclusions. The key difference to look out for is an asymmetrical shape or if it continues to grow. Determining a difference in shape might be difficult to conclude if you haven’t determined the original size of the mole. While examing a mole, remember the A, B, C, D, E acronym that is provided in the image above.
There are several risk factors associated with having any kind of cancer, especially melanoma. These are some of the risks that can increase an individual’s chances of getting melanoma (3):
Sun exposure: This is probably the most well-known risk factor associated with skin cancer. This factor is the reason why your mom keeps telling you to put sunscreen on. The reason for this is because of the two types of UV radiation: UVA and UVB.
UVA: Stands for ultraviolet A. This type of radiation is able to pass through glass, meaning that when you are in the car or near a window in the middle of the day, this form of radiation can pass through the glass which can cause skin cancer, aging, and wrinkling.
UVB: Stands for ultraviolet B. This type of radiation is also from the sun and can cause melanoma to form, but the key difference between UVA and UVB is that UVB can cause sunburns but cannot pass through glass. Therefore, you would actually need to be outside in the hottest hours of the day to be exposed to this UVB radiation.
Tanning beds: You might think that getting your tan via a tanning bed is safer than getting a tan from the natural sun but that is not correct. Artificial tanning beds are also associated with putting an individual at risk of getting melanoma. The reason for this is because tanning beds use ultraviolet radiation similar to the radiation you're getting from the sun. Despite what salons say, tanning beds are harmful to your health and can increase your chances of getting melanoma (4).
Genetics: When you think of a direct relative (such as a parent or grandparent) having a type of cancer, you might automatically assume that you will get that cancer, but that is not always the case. Cancers are found in the somatic cells (body cells, not sex cells), this means that the mutation will not be directly passed on to the next generation. The mutations in these types of cells just increase the probability (or chances) of the next generation getting that same mutation. Basically, the next generation is ABLE to get that mutation but are NOT positively going to get it. Only about 10% of individuals who have melanoma have had relatives with (or who have had) melanoma.
Skin type: If you have a lighter complexion and often get burned rather than tanned, this means that you are more likely to get melanoma than someone with darker skin. Furthermore, people with darker skin can also get melanoma without proper safety precautions. It's just that there are a greater percentage and risk factor for lighter skinned people being exposed to the formation of melanoma.
There are many other risk factors associated with skin cancer, such as aging and the number of moles you already have and produce but the thing to take away from these risks is that you need to protect and watch out for any unusual moles that spontaneously appear on your body and wear sun protection!
Previously, I have described cancer as being the abnormal growth of cells that rapidly undergo cell growth, even when a mistake has occurred. This might cause you to wonder how UV radiation can affect our skin and cause cancer. Below I have provided some very interesting videos that describe this process:
In this video, a YouTuber questions How UV causes cancer and aging with Dr. Hayley Goldbach who is a dermatologist. She describes how the UV radiation wave causes covalent bonding between adjacent thymine or cytosine bases (or pyrimidine dimers), rather than what the bases would original bond to, such as thymine with adenine and cytosine with guanine. The first few times that this irregular covalent bonding occurs, our DNA can be repaired which prevents the skin cancer from forming every time you are exposed to sunlight. Towards the end of the video, they discuss how the sun’s UV radiation can also cause aging because of the breaking down of collagen in our dermis (middle layer of skin).
In this video, Dr. Ankit discusses How UV rays damage our skin. This video is a bit shorter than the previous one I linked above and it also has a bit more approachable images and animations (for the more visual learners). Dr. Ankit discusses very similar topics as the previous video but includes that the DNA can be repaired after being affected by the UV radiation but after a prolonged amount of time, too much damage can be caused to the cell in which case just causes skin cancer to form in that skin cell.
Personally, I recommend watching both videos because they are both informative about how UV radiation can generate skin cancer. Also, one video might answer some of the questions you might still have after watching the other video. So, in order to prevent getting melanoma, make sure to use sunscreen every 2 hours, limit direct exposure during the hottest times of the day in your area, avoid tanning beds and lamps, and check your skin regularly to ensure nothing new has popped up (3).
Before I conclude this post I want to discuss the different stages of melanoma (5):
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| https://www.yervoy.com/metastatic/what-is-metastatic-melanoma |
Stage 1: Is when the malignant tumor has begun to enter the dermis (middle skin layer) region. There are two types of stage 1: 1a and 1b. Stage 1a and 1b are differentiated by the thickness of the tumor. By this point, the tumor could be around 2mm thick but there will still be no signs that the cancer has metastasized (meaning that it hasn't spread to other parts of the body).
Stage 2: In this stage, the cancer still would not have spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body, but it would have become slightly bigger and could even be ulcerated (meaning that could have an ulcer surrounding it).
*An ulcer is a sore that is slow to heal and can be painful. Oftentimes, that occurs when an individual has an infection, disease, or injury that does not heal well. These ulcers, if not treated, can cause serious issues like an infection, a leg or foot amputation (if it is a diabetic ulcer), or osteoporosis (6).
Stage 3: At this stage, the melanoma has undergone a regional spread. This means that the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes and nearby skin, but has not yet spread far enough from the original site of the tumor.
Stage 4: At this stage, the cancer has spread beyond the regional area of the lymph nodes and nearby skin and has metastasized to other organs. This is the most severe and most difficult stage to treat in any type of cancer, especially if the cancer has spread to the vital organs, such as the lungs or brain.
Just like with lung cancer, skin cancer can be an easily preventable cancer if the correct safety precautions are taken. Make sure to use sunscreen when going outside during the day, don't use tanning beds, and be aware of the moles you have around your body and get them checked often. In a later post, I will be discussing the treatments and treatment rates associated with melanoma!
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| http://gakkomom.com/blog/its-sunscreen-time |
References:
1) This website gives information to be able to better understand cancer (in general). National Cancer Institute. What is Cancer? https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer. Updated February 9, 2015. Accessed April 1, 2019.
2) This website describes what melanoma is and the 3 types of melanoma that I described above. Melanoma Research Foundation. What is melanoma? https://www.melanoma.org/understand-melanoma/what-is-melanoma. Accessed April 1, 2019.
3) This website describes in great detail the risk factors that are associated with melanoma. Approved by the Cancer.Net Editorial Board. Cancer.Net. Melanoma: Risk Factors and Prevention. https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/melanoma/risk-factors-and-prevention. Updated 06/2017. Accessed April 2, 2019.
4) This website briefly describes the radiation used in tanning beds and why they are considered to be a risk factor to melanoma. Skin Cancer Foundation. Tanning. https://www.skincancer.org/prevention/tanning. Accessed April 3, 2019.
5) This website describes each individual stage in melanoma and provides links to a more in-depth evaluation of each of the stages. At Melanoma Foundation. Understanding Melanoma: Stages of Melanoma. https://www.aimatmelanoma.org/stages-of-melanoma/. Accessed April 14, 2019.
6) This website describes what an ulcer is and how one can get one. Web MD. What is an Ulcer? https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/what-is-an-ulcer#1. Accessed April 14, 2019.
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