Skin cancer is one of the frequent forms of malignant tumors, equally striking men and women, mainly aged more than 50, usually on open sites of a body. The frequency of the skin cancer makes about 5 % of general cancer cases.
In general, there are three versions of a tumor relating to the skin cancer. The most widespread of them is a melanoma.
The melanoma is a type of an oncological disease whose source is cells allocating a pigment melanin in a skin. These are the cells which are responsible for skin pigmentation and for its color. Normally, when old cells die off, new ones appear, but a cell fission proceeds at a cancer, though there is no need for a new tissue.
It is noted that people with a light skin, with a fair or reddish hair have the skin cancer much more often. On the contrary, swarthy and black-skinned people have such a disease in six or even in ten times less than ones of the European type. The women's incidence of this illness is slightly higher than men's, though it is not considerable.
None of the physicians expected such 'a growth of a melanoma incidence as it has taken place for the last twenty years' (NCI). It is necessary to pay tribute that the skin cancer is diagnosed quite simply, so it gives more chances of its early detection and successful treatment. But nevertheless, the skin cancer does not become less life-threatening for people's life.
Speaking about the causes of the skin cancer, physicians cannot give a definite answer. Certainly, there are factors which promote the development of this illness. But the oncology mechanism still remains a riddle. It is not known even by the Israeli oncologists who, as we know, are considered to be the ones of the most professional specialists-oncologists around the world (NCI).
A solar radiation or ultra-violet radiation is more often called as one of the reasons of the skin cancer. One should not think that UF radiation does not get under the skin. Its influence is much deeper than people think. Our organism learned to regulate and protect us from sunshine. For the protection against the radiation, our cells allocate a pigment which makes the skin of a darker color. And the more we are on the sun, the darker our skin becomes. 'A suntan is a protective reaction of an organism in order to protect internal hypodermic tissues from the influence of a direct sunshine'. The nature takes care of us. But our behavior provokes such a disease as a melanoma. It is noted that despite the skin color, 'people, whose work is connected with staying in the open air, suffer more often from the melanoma'. Fishermen, workers of the village, who are working in the fields the whole day, have a high risk to suffer from it; they are not rescued even by the suntan.
The tendency to the melanoma is caused by a congenital predisposition. Some other congenital features can testify additionally that you have a tendency to the melanoma. For example, you can be observed unusual or atypical birthmarks - a nevus, congestions of melanocytes. An atypical nevus can have a flat surface located flush with a skin, it can be smooth or slightly scaly, or it can look roughly speckled ruts, or have a "pebble" appearance. This new growth is not malignant and is not surely inclined to regeneration, but being multiple, it is a sign that you have a tendency to a melanoma.
The researchers showed that smoking of tobacco and accompanying products can double risk of the skin cancer (NCI). A local influence of various groups of the chemical compounds, possessing cancerogenic influence (arsenic, combustive-lubricating materials, tar) is capable to cause this illness, too. An ionizing radiation is one more reason. Mechanical and thermal injuries of a skin, leading to the formation of hems, can also cause the emergence of the skin cancer.
Except for the skin cancer of the extremities, possessing a bigger malignancy and quickly giving metastases on the lymphatic system, defeating the remote lymph nodes, inaccessible to remove, it is possible to reach an absolute and permanent recovery of an overwhelming number of patients at other localizations. The clinical course is slow. Metastases are formed extremely seldom. The treatment comes more than in 90 % of cases. The prognosis is more favorable in superficial forms (NCI).
