Skin Cancer

The skin is our biggest organ and its cells renew in a regular and controlled way. Every day, skin cells age and die and are replaced by new cells. Sometimes this systematic process goes wrong, with new cells forming without the skin needing them, and without aging cells dying when they should. This excess of cells can form a mass of tissue called a neoplasm or tumor.

Scientific studies have shown that the most important external factor in the development of skin cancer is chronic and/or intermittent exposure to ultraviolet radiation from solar radiation or sunbeds.
The two most common types of nonmelanoma skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. This type of carcinoma represents, together, about 90% of all skin neoplasms and tend to appear on the head, face, neck, hands and arms, the areas most exposed to the sun. However, skin cancer can appear anywhere on the body.

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that originates in pigment-producing skin cells called melanocytes. These cells transform and start to grow uncontrollably and invade the surrounding tissues. This type, although less common, is the most serious and represents about 10% of all cases. Furthermore, it is responsible for more than 2/3 of deaths from skin cancer, essentially when diagnosed late.
In the last 20 years, its incidence has increased substantially, with an estimated global mortality rate from melanoma at 5 years of age at around 15%. It is rarer in children and adolescents, but its incidence in the population under 20 years of age has increased, as well as in the general population.

As for treatment and diagnosis, self-examination and medical observation are good screening measures for early diagnosis. Most skin cancers are curable as long as they are diagnosed early. Surgical treatment of basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma is usually curative.
In more advanced cases, squamous cell carcinoma may develop metastases, requiring oncological medical treatment. Melanoma, too, if treated surgically at a very early stage, is usually curable. However, there are currently several new oncologic medical therapies that have shown very promising results in the treatment of advanced melanomas.