What Causes Skin Cancer?

UV or ultraviolet radiation from the sun is the main answer to the question of what causes skin cancer. The sun’s energy is actually a form of radiation. This radiation takes the form of visible light but also includes other rays you can’t see. The invisible infrared radiation, although you can't see it, is responsible for making the sun’s rays feel hot on the skin.

UV is one example of these invisible rays. There are actually two kinds of UV radiation, (UVA) Ultraviolet A or (UVB) Ultraviolet B. UV causes sun tans and sunburns and other skin damaging effects that make your skin look wrinkled and aged.

UV rays also damage your DNA. DNA refers to the genetic material that makes up your genes. These genes control the overall health and growth of your skin cells. If the damage done to the DNA is too severe, normal skin cells may begin growing into disorderly and uncontrolled cancer cells.

Prevalence of Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is quite prevalent and is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer. Some form of skin cancer is diagnosed in over one million people in the U.S. each year. Compared to other forms of cancer, skin cancer has a lower incidence of death since it has a higher likelihood of being caught during the early stages.

Hereditary Factors

Some cases of skin cancer may be hereditary and can run in families. In such cases, the skin cancer is caused by the abnormal genes that children can inherit from their parents. Therefore genes not only make parents and children look alike but they also make them perfect candidates for acquiring the same diseases.

Other Causes

There are also several other major causes of skin cancer. For example:

Frequently utilizing tanning booths in order to attain an artificial tan has been proven as a probable cause of skin cancer.
Any deficiency of the immune system, particularly any condition that predisposes your body to have a lowered immune system function, will increase your risk of developing skin cancer.
A weakening of the immune system that occurs as a result of taking medications for the treatment of an autoimmune disease or after undergoing an organ transplant can also cause skin cancer. These types of drugs can cause your body to lower its immune system’s response to autoimmune diseases that trigger the immune system to attack its own cells and even its own organs.
Exposure to high levels of x-rays may also be linked to skin cancer

Chemical Causes

There are also some chemicals which have been found to promote the development of certain skin cancers. These chemicals may include arsenic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can be inhaled when air is contaminated, consumed in contaminated foods, or acquired when touching anything that has been contaminated with the chemicals. Contact with certain arsenic chemicals especially for sheep shearers, farmers, and miners, plus hydrocarbons in tar, soot, and oils may also cause squamous cell carcinoma.

Assessing Your Risk

The following groups of people are at greater risk of developing skin cancer:

Those with fair skin, especially skin that sunburns and freckles easily
Those with light, red, or blonde hair, and green or blue eyes
Those with genetic disorders that cause the depletion of skin pigment, such as xeroderma pigmentosum and albinism
Those who have already been diagnosed and treated for skin cancer
Those with numerous, unusual or large moles that have been present since birth. Some will opt to have their moles removed to lower the risk of the moles developing into cancerous tumors.
Those with close family members who have had skin cancer
Those who have had at least one severe sunburn early in life

Treatment

The treatment for squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma is straightforward. Surgical removal of the lesion is usually adequate. Malignant melanoma on the other hand may require surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.