Skin Cancer

Lena Abougabal

February 14, 2023

 Did you know that the top second most dangerous type of skin cancer, squamous cell

carcinoma, but three out of four Americans don’t know what it is? Did you also know that only

28% know that it is life threatening? (Skin Cancer Foundation) Many Americans have heard about

melanoma, which is another type of skin cancer, but it is less common than squamous cell

carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma is even more common than breast, lung, and prostate

cancer combined. Many people know what lung cancer is. Many people know what breast

cancer is. Many people know what prostate cancer is. How come no one knows what squamous

cell carcinoma is? How come most Americans living in the U.S. today do not know these

different types of skin cancers and how to spot them before they get life-threatening?

Well, that’s exactly what the whole point of this research project is going to be about.

Skin cancer. More specifically, I have researched about the three most dangerous types of skin

cancers, how we can spot them, and how to prevent them.

Before we go off into how dangerous or how to prevent the formation of skin cancer, we

have to look into the cellular level of the skin. We have two different types of skin in our bodies.

Most of our bodies contain thin skin and only the palms of our hands and the soles of our feet

contain thick skin. Our skin has 3 main layers: epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. Skin cancer

occurs in our epidermis. In fact, our epidermis has 4-5 layers of its own. Our thin skin has 4

layers while our thick skin has 5 layers. Starting from the lowest level of the epidermis, we have

stratum basale. Stratum basale contains our stem cells which produce more skin cells and

melanocytes that produce our melanin (skin color). The second layer, stratum spinosum,

contains skin cells and dendritic cells that boost immune responses. The third layer, stratum

granulosum, contains skin cells and forms a “waterproof barrier” to prevent our bodies from

water loss. The fourth layer, stratum lucidum, is the only difference between thin and thick skin.

Thick skin contains this layer but thin skin does not. The purpose of this layer is to reduce the

amount of friction present between the two layers surrounding this layer: stratum granulosum

and stratum corneum. Stratum corneum, the final and outermost layer of skin, protects our body
from the external environment. This layer also contains mostly dead skin cells called

keratinocytes. It appears thicker in thick skin and thinner in thin skin—as the name already

suggests.

Now that we know about the layers of the skin, we can now talk about how the

production of melanin and genetics take place within the skin (epidermis) then correlate this

information back to skin cancer. Our skin color comes from the pigment of melanin that is

produced by our melanocytes found in our stratum basale (lowest layer of the epidermis). As

humans, we all have an average amount of melanocytes. The only difference is the kind of

melanin and how much melanin is being produced. Since my research is only based upon how

skin cancer appears, I won’t really be touching on all of the amino acids, organelles, etc

involved with making melanin. The most important factor to bring up to connect melanin to skin

cancer is the DNA/genetic aspect of it. Yes, people can be born with skin cancer—specifically

melanoma which is the rarest and most dangerous type of skin cancer. Other than that, people

can simply get skin cancer from UV rays. UV-B and UV-A rays which both come from the sun,

tanning beds, and other artificial sources cause damage to your DNA. The only reason why you

haven’t been seeing any damage or signs of skin cancer on your body is because your melanin

is what has been protecting you from these rays. Everytime you are exposed to UV rays, your

DNA gets damaged. Once it’s damaged, proteins come in and rebuild up your DNA while

melanin production is significantly increasing. While your DNA for your skin is being built up

again, your melanin provides a shield for your nuclei (protecting your DNA). In result, skin

cancer would come from the inability of your body to sense that your DNA has been damaged

and needs repairing or a lack to produce enough melanin. Skin cancer comes from when the

amino acids in your DNA do not connect to the opposite side of the strand but connect to their

adjacent pairs.

The most common type of skin cancer that we see today is called basal cell carcinoma.

Basal cell carcinoma accounts for almost 80% of skin cancer and, believe it or not, originates in
the stratum basale layer of the skin. This type of skin cancer is said to be the least deadliest one

with a 5-year survival rate of 100%. A “5-year survival rate” is the end result of a test taken to

determine the mortality rate of certain diseases from a group of people who have been

diagnosed with this disease—in this case it’s basal cell carcinoma. Basal cell carcinoma, even

though it’s not very deadly, if left untreated it can worsen and spread to deeper layers of your

skin and possibly bones. There is still a possibility that this skin cancer can lead to be

life-threatening if left untreated. Risk factors for the development of basal cell carcinoma can be

UV exposure, indoor tanning, already having a history of skin cancer, being over 50 years old,

light skin, being male, or having any types of skin inflammation. Basal cell carcinoma usually

looks like a bump on the skin, flat pink, brown, or red spot, crusty, and specifically small and

smooth.

The second most common type of skin cancer is squamous cell carcinoma. The reason

for the name “squamous” is because your skin cells are made up of squamous cells. More

particularly, it looks more “squamous shaped” in the near surfaces of the layers in your skin. If

left untreated, squamous cell carcinoma can spread to other parts of your body or grow larger

than it already is. Squamous cell carcinoma is not just “skin” as we like to call it. It is not the

beige, white, tan, black, or brown color on the outside of our bodies but can also form in the

insides of our mouths, “passages of the kidneys, respiratory and digestive tracts, and the linings

of your organs” (NCI). Squamous cell carcinoma is the result of UV radiation exposure, indoor

tanning, weak immune system, genetics of skin cancer, over 50 years old, being male, light skin,

or a history of HPV. If detected early, it can be treated with no likelihood of death. Squamous cell

carcinoma normally looks firm, red, flat, and scaly.

The most dangerous but rarest type of skin cancer is melanoma. You can think of it as if

you just hit the jackpot, but not in a good way. Melanoma is also known as the “black cancer” for

its dark appearance. It is a type of skin cancer that appears in the form of an irregular mole. The

reason behind the name “melanoma” is due to the location that melanoma occurs in. Melanoma
comes from your melanocytes. Melanocytes, if you recall, are found in the stratum basale layer

of your skin and are the reason why human skin comes in many different shades. Unlike the

other two previously described skin cancers, “the exact cause of all melanomas isn’t clear”

(Mayoclinic). However, it is known that the chances of developing melanoma is higher in those

with more moles or if an individual has had 5 or more sunburns throughout their lifespan.

Melanoma can end up spreading to your lymph nodes—which is basically your immune system

(). Being the most dangerous type of skin cancer, if this type of skin cancer is detected early the

5-year lifespan is 99%.

A way that professionals in skin cancer research have come up with an analogy to help

others catch onto warning signs of skin cancer is the ABCDE rule which I will later on implement

in my brochure. More than 2 people die every hour in the U.S. from skin cancer and spreading

more awareness about this could hopefully decrease these numbers in our upcoming years.