Melanom The Most Dangerous Form Of Skin Cancer Essay

     There are three main types of skin cancer. These are malignant melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. While melanoma is the most life-threatening of the three, it is also the most

The largest organ of the human body is your skin. It is your body’s first line of defense against infections, injuries, heat, and sunlight. It also helps in controlling the temperature of your body and getting rid of the excess water and salt by sweating it out. Skin cancer is also known as cancer of the sun. Excessive amounts of ultra violet lights affect your skin in negative ways, possibly leading to Melanoma skin cancer. Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer there is and can often times be fatal (McClay).

Inherited genetic mutations play a major role in about 5 to 10 percent of all cancers.

Heredity also plays a role in the development of cancer. If a person’s relatives have a history of cancer, then that person has a higher risk of developing cancer. Genetic variations, particularly those influencing how the body responds to carcinogens, may create a greater vulnerability to cancer.

Those who obtain fair skin which is a high majority of people also those who work in the sun continuously e.g life guards on hot sunny beaches & builders, Also previous generations in families with previous history of cancers are highly likely to develop this skin disease.

When I was given this ancestry project I automatically knew I wanted to figure out my family genetics and why I got cancer in the first place. I am the only child out of four in my family to get cancer. After digging into some history I found out that my mom, grandma, and uncle had cancer. It's weird how genetics work but I was basically doomed from the beginning. My grandma had breast cancer and had both her breasts removed. My uncle had stage four lung cancer and passed away shortly after diagnosis. And my mom had thyroid cancer only a few years ago and is a survivor. Since there is history of breast cancer in my family I had to get tested for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene, which is a mutated gene that is inherited from your family. This gene increases your risk of developing breast cancer to 50%, a one in two

Although there are several types of skin cancer, the most aggressive form is melanoma. This cancer of the skin involves mass replication of the pigment producing melanocyte cells, which are located in the epidermis, below the basal layer. There are several factors involved with the onset of melanoma including, exposure to ultraviolet rays, genetic predisposition, numerous nevi (moles), immunosuppression, and environmental exposure to carcinogens.

Melanoma is a dangerous invasive cancer which starts in melanin producing cells (melanocytes) usually located at the bottom of the skins epidermal layer. Although certain individuals have a genetic propensity for melanoma, it is usually triggered by excessive UV exposure from sunlight or tanning beds (Mayo Clinic, 2016a). At early stages it is relatively easy to treat, however, recurrences are common. At later stages melanoma treatments are less effective since it tends to metastasize and spread easily through the lymphatic system (Mayo Clinic, 2016a).. The root cause of malignant melanoma is due to mutations in the p53 gene protein which invariably leads to further mutations.

Familial melanoma is a genetic or inherited condition. This means that the risk of having a melanoma can be passed from generation to generation in a family. Ordinarily, each cell has two copies of each gene: one inherited from the mother and one inherited from the father. Familial melanoma follows a dominant inheritance pattern, in which case a mutation happens in only one copy of the gene. As every cell has two copies of each gene, it means that a parent can potentially pass along a copy of his or her normal gene or a copy of the mutated gene. Therefore, a child who has a parent with a mutation has a 50% chance of inheriting that mutation. A related person such as a brother or a parent of the person who has a mutation also has a 50% chance of having the same mutation.

Melanoma is a malignant tumor that arises from pigment-producing skin cells termed melanocytes. When the cell division of these melanocytes becomes unregulated, they begin to divide and multiply too rapidly. This results in a cancerous overgrowth of these pigmented cells. Melanomas most frequently begin as a benign mole or freckle, which subsequently grow and transform into cancerous lesions. The most lethal type of skin cancer, melanoma is often a direct result of exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun (Ignatavicius, 2016).

The graph above shows the Melanoma Incidence and Mortality in the United States. Melanoma is one of the newest type of cancer diagnosis that is the fifth most common type of new cancer in American men and the seventh most common in American women. Whites or Caucasians are more at risk of growing melanoma than African Americans, which makes the incidence and mortality rates for melanoma highest in Whites and Caucasians. Incidence rates are higher in women than in men that are younger than the age of 45 years old. Melanoma incidence rates in men are more than twice as higher of those in women at the age of 60 or older. When a man reaches the age of 80 they are three times more times likely to grow melanoma than women. The yearly incidence rate

C. Melanoma Skin Cancer is the most dangerous form of skin cancer, it kills one person per hour, these cancerous growths are most often caused by ultraviolet radiation from sunshine or tanning beds. These tumors originate in the pigment-producing melanocytes in the basal layer of the epidermis. Melanoma is caused mainly by intense, occasional UV exposure (frequently leading to sunburn), especially in those who are genetically predisposed to the disease. Often the first sign of melanoma is a change in the size, shape, color or feel of a mole.

Some of these symptoms are losing weight without any reason, feeling pain in the places which are infected, changes in the moles like getting bigger, changing their color, bleeding, looking crusty inflamed, and loss their symmetry the two halves of the moles do not look the same. In some cases There are specific reasons increased the possibility to be affected called risk factors. There are several risk factors causing melanoma, such as weakened immune system, sun exposure, skin type, family history, and the number of the atypical moles, yet the commonest cause is sun exposure. Moreover, atypical moles, which known as (dysplastic nevi), are the start of melanoma. In addition, family history is very important because if someone has any member of the family has a melanoma, even in the past this makes the possibility to be affected

A positive Family History of prostate cancer is significant, having a first degree relative (brother or father) increases the risk by 2-2.5 times, if 2 or more the risk is increased by 5-11 times. There is a genetic (hereditary disease) sub-group that accounts for near 10% of cases, this is likely if three or more relatives.

That type affects one out of every sixty-thousand males around the world, though it is much less common in females. Nearly one out of every seventy people are a carrier for the albinism gene. That means that even though they carry the albinism gene that does not mean they show any outward sign of having it. To get albinism both parents must have the gene, and the child has a twenty five percent chance of having albinism, a fifty percent chance of being a carrier, and a twenty five percent chance of having two normal genes.