Skin cancer

Skin cancer is the term that is used for all bad forms of growth of the skin. In everyday use, people often talk about melanoma, but there are other forms of skin cancer, too. These are usually named after the type of cell that grows uncontrollably. Most skin cancers develop in the epidermis. Very often a tumor can be seen, so it is often possible to detect skin cancer at an early stage. Very few people with skin cancer will die of the disease.,^[1] though it can be disfiguring. Melanoma survival rates are poorer than for non-melanoma skin cancer, although when melanoma is diagnosed at an early stage, treatment is easier and more people survive.^[2]

Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer. Melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers combined are more common than lung, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer.^[1] Melanoma is less common than both basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, but it is the most serious — for example, in the UK there were over 11,700 new cases of melanoma in 2008, and over 2,000 deaths.^[3] It is the second most common cancer in young adults aged 15–34 in the UK.^[4] Most cases are caused by over-exposure to UV rays from the sun or sunbeds.^[5]

Non-melanoma skin cancers are the most common skin cancers. The majority of these are basal cell carcinomas. These are usually small spot growths caused by too much exposure to the sun over time. They do not usually spread, and rarely kill.

Types

Cancer	Description	Illustration
Basal-cell carcinoma	Note the pearly translucency to fleshy color, tiny blood vessels on the surface, and sometime ulceration which can be characteristics. The key term is translucency.
Squamous-cell skin carcinoma	Commonly presents as a red, crusted, or scaly patch or bump. Often a very rapid growing tumor.
Malignant melanoma	The common appearance is an asymmetrical area, with an irregular border, color variation, and often greater than 6 mm diameter.^[6]