Skin Cancer

More than one million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States, making it the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer.Skin cancer is often categorized as melanoma or non-melanoma. Melanoma is a cancer that begins in melanocytes. It is less common than non-melanoma skin cancer, but tends to be more aggressive. In 2006 an estimated 62,000 individuals in the U.S. will be diagnosed with melanoma, and close to 8,000 will die of the disease.

The most common type of non-melanoma skin cancer is basal cell carcinoma. This type of cancer rarely spreads to distant sites in the body, but it can be disfiguring and may invade nearby tissues.

The second most common type of non-melanoma skin cancer is squamous cell carcinoma. Although this type of cancer is more likely to metastasize (spread to lymph nodes or other sites in the body) than basal cell carcinoma, metastasis is still rare. Both basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma most commonly develop on sun-exposed parts of the skin, but can develop on other parts of the skin as well.

An alarming trend in both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers is that the frequency of these cancers in children and young adults appears to be increasing. This highlights the importance of prevention at all ages.