All About Skin Cancer

In 2003, almost 50,000 people were afflicted with skin cancer in the United States alone. Of those, about 8,000 dies as a result of the said disease. So it has caught the attention of health experts from around the world and many countries have taken steps to slow this statistic if not totally prevent the said disease from rising. Many people have the said disease have it till it is too late and that nothing can be done to halt the spread and cure the said disease. Many fail to recognize the warning signs and other factors that contribute to this health risk that they merely do not know enough. Thanks to people from the Skin Cancer Foundation, CDC, National Cancer Institute and many others, information is now within easy reach through their respective web sites for anyone who is seeking information.

Scientists have identified the protein which is responsible for the development of a mole into a tumor or for the skin feature to remain, well simply a mole. Skin melanoma’s have the skin’s pigment producing cells running amok causing one of the deadliest forms of cancer in the world that is responsible for many deaths globally. The identified human skin protein BRAF is part of the body’s cell growth and proliferation system. Both Nevi’s (another technical name for a mole and melanoma’s) all share the same distinct traits with respect to the way the protein causes them to remain benign or turn into a skin melanoma.

There are billions of dollars being spent on the various types of skin cancers out in the world that kills millions every year. This is a common case of economics and the need to earn money where pharmaceutical firms pour money into research that would be most profitable for their business. Many sufferers are crying foul saying all types and forms should get equal financing and that all types of diseases should be treated as humanely as possible. Such is the case of one of the previous posts regarding a very rare form of skin cancer Merkel Cell Carcinoma, which had the loved one who was left behind selling the guitar of his fallen husband on eBay to provide funding into the research for the said rare cancer. This has raised and touched many who express support and are starting to cry out to governments and businesses (drug manufacturers) to pay more attention to deemed “non-profitable” studies to alleviate the pain and suffering of the thousands who are diagnosed with the said disease.

Study into the treatment and cause of a very rare type of skin cancer called Merkel Cell Carcinoma is not going as fast as it should and many are dying due to this. This form of skin cancer is very hard to diagnose, leaving even well seasoned dermatologists to let it go as a simple bump from an insect bite. That bump, once it forms is already sign of the advanced progression of the disease and is so painful that people die within 3 years of the appearance of the first bump. The non-diagnosis, even misdiagnosis of this form of cancer is a classic case of not enough funding going into research to try to understand it better and to develop effective treatments. To date, no quantitative studies have been done on the rare form (the rarity of the condition may be preventing much interest in it) of skin cancer that has such a high mortality rate and very fast progression that only the loved ones of people who have suffered and experienced it voice interest.

Just recently, scientists have discovered that skin cancers such as mucosal and acral melanomas are brought about by a number of DNA abnormalities that happens in a gene called the KIT gene. Scientists say that if they can figure the mutation out, there is a great possibility of creating cures for it as well.

Melanoma is usually found in the skin, and in some cases in the eye and bowel. As of today it is known to be the most serious type of skin Cancer,Acral melanomas are usually found sprouting on the hands (palms), the feet (soles), and under the nails. Mucosal melanomas on the other hand grow in the in the mucous membranes in some internal organs of the body.

There is a finding that the disease modifying drug Methotrexate (MTX), may be carcinogenic.

Methotraxate is usually administered to people with rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic inflammatory disease which affects 1 percent of adults worldwide. Rheumatoid arthritis often leads to disability and eventually a diminished quality of life, it can also cause an early death as one who acquires it is more to developing cancer.

MTX is believed to be carcinogenic because of numerous reports about patients getting lymphoma after being treated by MTX. And the surprising thing is, tumors disappeared when the patients stopped taking the drug.
However, as of this moment studies about Methitrexate have yet to have a conclusion.

As we age, the cells of the body does so in the same manner and one of the first abilities they lose is the ability to regenerate. This is programmed into the human body and is our amazing ability that allows organs to heal and skin to renew itself about every few weeks. The skin and the cells that makes it up tends to lose it’s regenerative properties, aging more as you get older rather than shed and grow new skin. This is being found as the main reason why our skin fails to renew itself in time, resulting in aged skin that has gone into a sense of regenerative hibernation, much like the problem faced by hair follicles that gets extended resting phases, slowing growth and thus leading to baling. The hair follicles are there, they’re just not growing any hair. Just as with skin, they are there, they’re just not renewing themselves as they used to.

Hollywood celebrities love it for it makes one look healthy and well sunned but for dermatologists and cancer researchers, they all point to the same outcome, skin cancer. Skin cancer as it seems comes from any exposure to UV rays, may it be from the sun or not and it has something to do with the gene mutating abilities of the invisible rays that damages skin cells for life. They are now saying there is no such thing as a safe tan for the damage from both all amount to the same and will eventually lead to skin cancer. Moderation is key and everybody who has to work with UV’s as a constant risk are advised to do so in moderation or with protective clothing. They are also under scrutiny but as arguments go, better have semething rather than nothing.

That protein is called Mcl-1, a part of the Bcl-2 protein family that brings about resistance to anoikis in cancerous skin cells. The drug is used to target the cancer cells themselves to go into premature cell death or programmed death, stimulating it to end its own life and reducing the spread of the disease. Targeting the said protein is the key to combating skin cancer for future researchers and their studies are showing that such possible treatments may provide better treatment for skin cancer. Read more »

There has been a long standing debate over the link between skin melanomas and pregnancy which has yet to deliver a verdict on the possible link of exaggerated manifestation during pregnancy when the woman’s body is undergoing extreme hormonal changes. One side says there is no such link but another group of melanoma researchers are arguing that hormones and hormone treatments often given to women with imbalances can indeed trigger more aggressive melanoma formation that can impact greatly the health of the child and mother during the whole pregnancy period. Read more »