Skin cancer | |
---|---|
A basal-cell skin cancer. Note the pearly appearance and telangiectasia. | |
Specialty | Oncology and dermatology |
Symptoms | Basal-cell: painless raised area of skin that may be shiny with small blood vessel running over it or ulceration[1] Squamous-cell: hard lump with a scaly top[2] Melanoma: mole that has changed in size, shape, color, or has irregular edges[3] |
Types | Basal-cell skin cancer (BCC), squamous-cell skin cancer (SCC), melanoma[1] |
Causes | Ultraviolet radiation from the Sun or tanning beds[4] |
Risk factors | Light skin, poor immune function[1][5] |
Diagnostic method | Tissue biopsy[3] |
Prevention | Decreasing exposure to ultraviolet radiation, sunscreen[6][7] |
Treatment | Surgery, radiation therapy, fluorouracil[1] |
Frequency | 5.6 million (2015)[8] |
Deaths | 111,700 (2015)[9] |
Skin cancer | |
---|---|
A basal-cell skin cancer. Note the pearly appearance and telangiectasia. | |
Specialty | Oncology and dermatology |
Symptoms | Basal-cell: painless raised area of skin that may be shiny with small blood vessel running over it or ulceration[1] Squamous-cell: hard lump with a scaly top[2] Melanoma: mole that has changed in size, shape, color, or has irregular edges[3] |
Types | Basal-cell skin cancer (BCC), squamous-cell skin cancer (SCC), melanoma[1] |
Causes | Ultraviolet radiation from the Sun or tanning beds[4] |
Risk factors | Light skin, poor immune function[1][5] |
Diagnostic method | Tissue biopsy[3] |
Prevention | Decreasing exposure to ultraviolet radiation, sunscreen[6][7] |
Treatment | Surgery, radiation therapy, fluorouracil[1] |
Frequency | 5.6 million (2015)[8] |
Deaths | 111,700 (2015)[9] |