Skin cancers occur, when cells are damaged by ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun and use of solariums. Light from the sun has some radiation, it is the radiation that is harmful. When found early, most skin cancers can be managed with local treatment that does not have long-term side-effects. Skin cancer can be found on any part of the body. It is the most common cancer diagnosed in Australia. These cancers are either: non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) or melanoma. The treatment for these two groups is different, that makes it important to know the type of skin cancer. NMSC are far more common than melanoma and are typically found on the head and neck in middle aged and older people due to long term sun exposure. People can also get skin cancers on their arms, legs and trunk.
There are two common types of NMSC:
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC): is a tumour of the basal layer of the skin. BCCs are mostly a local problem. They usually grow slowly but can become very big and destroy tissue close to the tumour (locally), but rarely spread to other parts of the body (metastasise).
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC): starts in the top layer of skin cells. It often starts as hard scaly skin (actinic keratosis) and abnormal cells (dysplasia) and SCC in situ (sometimes referred to as Bowen’s disease). A small number can travel to (metastasise) nearby lymph nodes, or be locally aggressive, and require more complex treatment.
Melanomas are less common than NMSC and can occur in younger people often as a result of previous sunburns. In Australia, melanoma is the fourth most common cancer. Sunburn causes 95% of melanomas and it is very treatable when found in its early stages
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) (cancer of neuroendocrine cells in the skin) is a rare skin cancer that may spread to the lymph nodes. It is most commonly found in older people. Sun exposed areas, including the head and neck, arms and legs are the areas usually affected. MCC is treated most commonly with radiation therapy, although surgery may be an option.
In Australia, sun exposure is a major risk factor for skin cancer. UV exposure in childhood and built up over a lifetime increases the risk of skin cancer, especially NMSC. Other factors that may increase the risk of skin cancer are:
Loading...