| In recent years, the incidence of
skin cancer around the world has escalated and the condition now
affects millions of people worldwide. The usual cause is prolonged
exposure to the harmful ultraviolet radiation in sunlight. The
risk is higher if anybody lives or takes vacations in areas with
intense sun. The recent depletion of the ozone layer is thought to
have played a part in increasing the incidence, because the ozone
layer acts as a shield against harmful ultraviolet light. In
addition, tanning booths, which use ultraviolet light, may cause
this cancer. People who have fair skin are especially susceptible
because they have low levels of melanin, the pigment that gives
the skin its color and helps protect it from the sun's harmful
ultraviolet rays. The four essential types are;
.1. Melanoma, a pigmented skin tumor that is quite serious and
may be life-threatening.
.2. Basal cell carcinoma, the most common skin tumor, which is
locally invasive and destructive (it destroys tissue in the
immediate area), but is usually does not spread or result in
death.
3.Squamous cell carcinoma, which is three times rarer than a basal cell
carcinoma but behaves in a similar manner.
.4. Bowen disease, a cousin of the squamous cell carcinoma but
more superficial, involving only the outer most layer of the skin.
The typical basal cell carcinoma is an elevated round-oval,
pearl-like bump with some red coloration due to fine red blood
vessels going across or into it. Sometimes several small bumps
form a circle. They bleed easily and sometimes ulcerate. The
squamous cell carcinoma is less well defined, has uneven, poorly
visualized borders and may be a scaly, crusted, red elevation with
a rough surface. Bowen disease usually is a red or pink
plaque-like elevation with very clear borders. Basal cell
carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma tend to occur on sun-exposed
sites of the skin.
Causes: The cause of cancer is unknown. It is thought, however,
that squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma are related
to an accumulation of sunlight over a lifetime. People with light
complexions have these tumors more often than people with dark
complexions. Malignant melanoma is believed to be associated with
numerous severe sunburns during childhood, adolescence, or young
adulthood. It, too, occurs more commonly in lightly pigmented
people, especially those with blue or green eyes, freckles and
almost white skin. A tendency to develop melanoma seems to run in
families.
Symptoms:
. Skin lesions with persistent ulceration or bleeding
. Persistent skin lesion that changes size, shape, or color (skin
changes).
Diagnosis: A Biopsy should be done on any suspicious skin
lesions. When evaluating pigmented skin lesions, the physician
usually looks for good and bad signs. Bad signs include
. Uneven pigmentation or coloration of the lesion
. Irregular borders
. Asymmetry
. Marked elevation
. Large size (bigger than a pencil eraser)
Treatment:
Medical Treatment: It required Surgical Treatment.
Surgical Treatment: All the types described above can be
treated by means of excision and removal of the tumor. Surgical
removal results in a better than 90 percent cure rate for
nonpigmented tumors (basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma
and Bowen disease). Alternative methods for destroying the cancer
include using liquid -nitrogen freezing (cryosurgery) or scraping
with a curette and burning the tissue with electric cautery
(electro desiccation and curettage).
The treatment of melanoma depends upon the thickness of the
tumor and the depth of invasion when examined with the microscope.
When the tumor is thin and superficial, excision examination of
the lymph nodes draining the skin area and chemotherapy.
Prevention: prolonged sun exposure increases the risk of this
cancer, so limiting exposure to the sun is the best prevention,
particularly for those with fair complexions. Most of it occurs on
the head, neck and hands, so clothing (wide-brimmed hats, long
sleeves) and use of sun block with a sun protection factor of 15
offers adequate protection. |
