Someya1

MiuSomeya
MeganShaffer
PreAPBiology
November30,2015

Mytopicisaboutbirthmark.Birthmarksarealsosameasmoles.Molescanbethecause
ofmelanoma.Soifyouhaveofmolesyoumighthavehighchancesyouwillgetskincancer.Itis
wellknownthatredhairedpeople,thosepeoplewithfairskinaremostatriskofmelanoma,and
thepeoplewhohadbeendiagnosedwithmelanomawerefoundtobemuchmorelikelytobe
carryingthegenesmostcloselyassociatedwithredhairandfreckles.Forsomereasonitismore
commoninmalesandthosewithpaleskin.Peoplewhogetssunburneasilycangetariskof
increasingmelanoma.Thegenesandthesunisputtingpeopleintogreatestrisk.Ifyouhave
morethan100molesyoucanhaveagreaterchanceofdevelopingmelanoma.Theresearch
showsthatthereareatleastfivegenesthatinfluencestheriskofmelanoma.Apersoncarrying
allthevariantsassociatedwithcanincreasetheriskaroundeighttimesmorelikelytodevelop
melanomathanthosewhosecarryingnone,thoughthemajorityofpeoplecarryatleastoneof
thesevariants.Actuallymostmolesarenotdangerous.Theonlymolesthatcanbecancerousare
thosethatlookdifferentfromotherexistingmolesorthosethatfirstappearaftertheageof20.If
younoticechangesinamole'scolour,height,sizeorshape,youshouldbecarefulaboutit.Ifits
bleeding,oozing,itching,appearscalyorbecometenderorpainfulyoushouldgogetcheckup.
Molesappearalotonhands,arms,chest,neck,faceandears.

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Ithinkalotofpeoplemaythinkmelanomaandskincancerisconsideredassynonymous.
Melanomaistherarestformofskincancer,withabout76,000newcasesdetermineeachyearin
theU.S.Itisalsothemostaggressive,andismostlikelytospreadtootherpartsofthebody.
Melanomabeginsinthemelanocytes,whicharethecellsinthelowestlayeroftheepidermis.
Possiblesignsofmelanomaincludeachangeintheappearanceofamoleorpigmentedareaof
theskin.

CutaneousmelanomarankssixthinrateofallcancersamongmenandwomenintheU.S.
accordingtotheresearch.Theexistenceofdiversebenignoratypicalneviarethestrongestrisk
causeformelanomadevelopment.Theriskcauseformelanomaandcausecombinedwithhigher
nevuscountsarethesame:lighterhaircolor,eyecolorandskincolorgreaterUVriskhigher
numberandharshnessofsunburnsmalesexandfreckling.Althoughpreviousstudieson
tanningriskandnevusdevelopmentinthewhitepeoplespopulationhavebeenmanaged,
anybodyhaveinvestigatedtherelationshipbetweentanningandneviinpeoplewiththelightest
skin.Redhairpeoplewerenotinitbecausediversepaststudiessuggestthatindividualswithred
hairreportfewernevithanallotherhaircolorsinthewhitepeoplespopulationnevithanall
otherhaircolorsinthewhitepeoplespopulation.Amongverylightskinnedwhiteskinchildren,
averagenumbersofneviforminimallytannedchildrenwere14.8atage6years18.8at7years
and22.3atage8years.Averagenumbersofnevifortannedchildrenwere21.2atage6years
27.9atage7yearsand31.9atage8years.Differencesinnevustotalbetweenuntannedand
tannedchildrenwerestatisticallyimportantatallages.Therelationshipbetweentanningand
numberofneviwasindependentofthechild'shairandeyecolor,parentreportedsunriskand

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skinphototype.Therewasnointeractionbetweentanningandneviamongdarkerskinnedwhite
children.UVtanningbenefitnevusdevelopmentinnonredhairchildrenwiththelightestskin
pigmentation.Whethernevusdevelopmentisdirectlyinthepathwayformelanomadevelopment
orasurrogatemarkerforUVinducedskindamageandorgeneticawarenesstomelanoma,our
resultssuggestthattanningavoidanceshouldbeconsideredasameasureforthereductionof
melanomariskinthispopulation.

Moles,Iwasthinkingthatitcanonlycausethemelanoma.Likeonlyskincancer.Butaccording
totheresearchthemolescanevencausebreastcancertoo.Alsoaccordingtotheresearch
womanwhohadthegreaternumberofneviaremostlikelytodevelopbreastcancer.Nevimaybe
thereissomepeoplewhodonotknowwhatisnevisoIwouldliketoexplainabit.Neviisshort
cutofsayingthewordnaevus.Itisthesameasbirthmarkandmolesonskinbutespecially
moles/birthmarkthatareformofraisedpatch.

Theresearcherusedadataoftwolargeprospective.TheNursesHealthStudyinU.S.
including74,523womennursesfollowedfor24years.AndtheE3NTeachersStudyCohortin
France,including89,902womenfollowedfor18years.InNursesHealthStudy,HanStudy,Han
andcolleaguesaskedpeoplewhoisstudyingtoreportthenumberofneviontheirleftarm.They
noticethatwomenwith15ormoreneviwere35%morelikelyrecognizedwithbreastcancer
thanwhosaidthattheydonothavenevi.Theriskofdevelopingbreastcancerof8.48%women
withnoneviand11.4%forwomenwith15ormorenevi.Inagroupofwomen,theyrecognized
thatpostmenopausalwithsixormorenevihadhigherbloodlevelsofestrogenandtestosterone

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thanwomenwithnonevi.Andthattheconnectionbetweenneviandbreastcancerrisk
disappearedafteradjustmentforhormonelevels.Peopleaskedstudyparticipantstoreportifthey
hadno,afew,many,orverymanymoles.Theyrecognizedthatwomenwithverymannevi
hada13%higherbreastcancerriskthanwomenreportingnonevi.Especiallybenignbreast
diseaseorfamilyhistoryofbreastcancer.Theseresearchdonotsuggestthatnevicancause
breastcancerbutthepossibilitythatneviareaffectedbylevelofsexhormones,whichmaybe
involvedinthedevelopmentofbreastcancer.Thatthenumberofnevicouldbeusedasamarker
ofbreastcancerrisk,butitisunclearwhetherorhowthisinformationwouldimproverisk.These
findingsmaynotapplytononwhitewomengiventhatthesestudiesinvolvedmostlywhite
participants.

Onetypeofthebirthmarkscanbetreatedbylaser.ItisPortWinebirthmark.About1%
ofnormalskinconsistsofbloodvessels.Portwinebirthmarkshavemorebloodvesselsthan
normalandwidthofthesevesselsisalsoalotbigger.Thistypeofskincanbetreatedusing
photoselectivethermolysis,duringthiswhichareaislightenwithlaserlightofaparticularcolor.
Thisisinvolvedwellbutnotbytherestofskin.Thelightenergyinvolvedconvertedintoheats
whichcausethebloodvesselstoshrinkin.Aftertakingtimeofhealing,theareatreatedlooks
morelikethesurroundingnormalskin.TheDutchphysicistsdevelopedamodelenablethem
effectsofvariousdifferenttypeoflaserlight.Theyfoundoutthatlaserlightatthewavelengthof
585nanometersrightnowusedcouldhardlyreachthecentreofthelargebloodvessels.by
choosingaslightlydifferentcolor,forexample590nanometres,thedeeperbloodvesselswere
alsoavailabletogoin,withoutdamagingdonetotherestoftheskintissue.Itshouldbenoted

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thatsome20%to30%of"portwine"birthmarksarestilldoesnotresposetolasertreatment,or
onlytoaverylimitedthing,andtreatmentissometimespainful,takestimeandexpensive.

Accordingtotheinformationfromthearticlelentigomalignaisacommonpremalignant
skinlesiontypicallyseeninolderpopulationswithahistoryofchronicsundamageanditis
commonlylocatedintheheadandneckregion.Among73patientsages39to93yearswho
chosetreatment,27weretreatedwithsurgicalexcision,31weretreatedwithradiationtherapy,
and15weretreatedwithcarbondioxidelaserablation.Thepatientswerefollowedanaverageof
16.6monthsforsurgicalexcision,46.3monthsforradiationtherapy,and77.8monthsforcarbon
dioxidelaserablation.Therecurrencerateswere4.2percentforsurgicalexcision,29percentfor
radiationtherapy,and6.7percentforcarbondioxidelaserablation.

UniversityofCaliforniaSanDiegoandthechiefofRadyChildren'sHospitalinSan
Diego,discussedwhichbirthmarksshouldbetreatedininfancyandthemostusefultreatments
forred,whiteandbrownbirthmarks."Thereareseveraldifferenttypesofbirthmarks,soitis
importanttodeterminethetypeofbirthmarkbeforeconsideringanypossibletreatments,most
birthmarksposenoriskstoinfantsandarebestleftuntreated,butsomecangrowandpotentially
causecomplications,particularlyiftheyoccuraroundtheeyes,lips,noseorgroinarea.In
addition,anylesionthathasthepotentialtoulcerateshouldbemonitored."(Dr.Friedlander).The
mostcommontypesofredbirthmarksareknownareinfantilehemangiomas,whichusually
appearontheskinatbirthorshortlythereafterassmallstrawberryshapedbumpsorflatspots.
Infantilehemangiomasgrowduringthefirsttwotosixmonthsoflife,afterthattimetheyusually

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stopgrowing.Dermatologistscangenerallypinpointhowmuchskinwillbeaffectedbythistype
ofbirthmarkbythetimeaninfantisthreeorfourmonthsold.Dr.Friedlanderpointoutthatmost
infantilehemangiomasdonotposeaproblemtoinfants,butdermatologistscanoftenprovide
usefulinformationtofamiliesregardingthepossibleforproblemsbycheckingthelocationofthe
birthmarkandtheamounttowhichitgrowsduringthefirstfewmonthsoflife."Overtime,most
infantilehemangiomaswilldisappearontheirown,butthereareinstanceswheredermatologists
willrecommendtreatment.Forexample,ifaninfantilehemangiomaoccursaroundtheeyes,it
canobstructandpreventnormalvisualdevelopmentifleftuntreated,or,iftheyoccurinthe
groinarea,theycanbecomeinflamedandthencausepaintothechild.Dependingontheirsize,
somefacialbirthmarksmayleavebehindascarorsaggyskinaftertheydisappear.Thatiswhyit
isoftenimportantforparentstoconsultadermatologistassoonastheirbabydevelopsa
birthmark,soitcanbeproperlyevaluatedtodetermineiftreatmentisnecessary,(Dr.
Friedlander).

Therearetimesinfantilehemangiomasrequirestreatment,andiftheydo,thereare
severaltreatmentoptionsavailable.Whilesystemicsteroidsandintralesionalsteroidtherapy,
wherethetreatmentisinjecteddirectlyinthebirthmarkhavebeenwidelyused,theymaycause
sideeffectsthatadermatologistwillneedtodiscusswithparentspriortotreatment.Arecent
developmentinthetreatmentofhemangiomasistheuseofpropranolol,adrugusedtotreathigh
bloodpressure.Thismedicationhasrecentlybeenfoundtobeveryeffectiveforpreventing
growthofandactuallyshrinkingtheseburse,butthismedicationalsohaspossiblesideeffects
thatcanbeseriousandneedtobemonitoredclosely.Othereffectivetreatmentsbeingusedare

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topicalmedicationsandlasertherapy.Anothercommonvascularbirthmarkthatmayrequire
treatmentisaportwinestain.Unlikeinfantilehemangiomas,portwinestainswillslowly
darkenandthickenovertimeandwillnotresolveontheirown.Characterizedbyaflat
appearancewithapink,red,orpurplishdiscoloration,portwinestainscommonlyappearonthe
faceandcanaffectachildphysicallyandemotionally.Dr.Friedlanderexplainedthatportwine
stainscanbeassociatedwitheyeproblems,includingglaucoma,andillnessdisorders.Forthis
reason,infantswithportwinestainsneedtobecheckinatimelymanner."Becauseportwine
stainsgrowandthickenovertimeandwillnotgoaway,manyparentsopttotreatthemearly
whenchildrenaresmall.Whiledermatologistshavebeenusingpulseddyelasersfordecadesto
treatthesetypesofbirthmarks,differentformsoflasertherapythatpenetratemoredeeplysuch
astheNd:YAGlaserandthealexandritelongpulsedlaseralsoarenowbeingusedwithmuch
success."(Dr.Friedlander)Dr.Friedlandernotedthatlasertherapyisusuallystartedwithinthe
firstsixto12monthsoflife,andapproximatelysixtoeighttreatmentsareneededtoaccess
excellentresults.

Molescanbethecauseofthemelanoma.Melanomacancauseskincancer.Sothemore
molesyouhave,youcanhaveamorehigherofgettingmelanomainfutureandmelanoma
connectstoskincancer.Alsomolescanbegeneticsoifyourparentsorrelativeshavealotof
molesyoucangetittoo.

Itsnotonlytheamountofmolesthatcancausemelanoma,butitcanalsobecausedby
haircolorandskincolor.Thatswhythereiscertainkindofpeoplewhogetsmelanoma.Ifmoles

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appearalotonthehands,arms,chest,neck,face,andearsitisdangerous.Melanomaandskin
canceraredifferentthings.Melanomaistherarestformofskincancer.Thereareseveral
differenttypesofmelanoma.Thesunisoneofthemainreasonstocausemelanoma.Melanoma
cancauseafewkindsofcancer.Anexampleofthisisbreastcancer.Anmolethatmightcause
breastcanceriscallednevi.Nevimaypossiblybeaffectedbythelevelofsexhormones,which
maybeberelatedtothedevelopmentofthebreastcancer.Rightnowtheresearchareonlyfor
whitepeople.Nonwhitepeoplewasntincludedinthisresearch.Thereisatreatmentfor
birthmarks.AccordingtoonearticleIreaditsaidthatonetypeofbirthmarkcanbetreatedbya
laser.ItscalledPortWine.Thistypeofskinconditioncanbetreatedusingphotoselective
thermolysis.Dr.Friedlandernotedthatlasertherapyisusuallystartedwithinthefirstsixto12
monthsoflife,andapproximatelysixtoeighttreatmentsareneededtoaccessexcellentresults.

Ihopeinthefuturethetherewillbemoreinformationaboutbirthmarksandmoles.Right
nowtheinformationaboutbirthmarksarealmostnone.SoIthinkpeopleshouldtalkaboutmore
birthmarks.Ithinkalotofpeoplewhohasbirthmarkswouldwanttoknowaboutit.Likeifit
willaffectyourhealthorlikehowtoknowifthebirthmarkisharmfultoyouetc.AlsoIhope
thattechnologywillimprovetoo.Likehavingatreatmenttogetridofbirthmarks.Ithinkfor
womenifthebirthmarksarebigtheymightgetembarrassed.Itsgoodtohavetreatmentor
therapyetc..forbirthmarks.

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