Dermatologist Warns About Increase in Non-Sun-Exposed Skin Cancer Cases: Basal Cell Carcinoma, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, and Melanoma

A dermatologist performs an examination (Shutterstock)

Increasingly, dermatologists are warning about an increase in the detection of skin cancer in areas not exposed to the sun. Although it is known to develop in areas of the skin that receive sunlight, an increase in cases has been reported in usually covered parts of the body. The three main types of this cancer are basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma.

Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are classified as non-melanoma skin cancers and usually have a better prognosis if detected early. On the other hand, melanoma is the most aggressive and dangerous of these types due to its high probability of developing metastasis. For this reason, experts focus on the importance of self-examining your skin and making regular visits to the dermatologist for early detection.

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• Basal cell carcinoma: This is the type of cancer that generally occurs in areas of the body exposed to the sun, such as the neck or face. Basal cell carcinoma may appear as a waxy or pearly lump, a flat brown scar-like lesion, or a crusty or bleeding ulcer that heals and returns.
• Squamous cell carcinoma: It also occurs in areas of the body exposed to the sun, such as the ears and hands. However, people with darker skin are more likely to develop squamous cell carcinomas in areas that are not usually squamous cell carcinomas. It may present as a firm, red nodule or a flat lesion with a scaly, crusty surface.

Woman applying sunscreen (Shutterstock)

• Melanoma: It is a type of skin cancer that can originate both in areas of unaltered skin and in moles that degenerate into malignant ones. Men tend to develop it more frequently on the face and trunk, while in women, it is more common on the lower legs. Symptoms include large brown spots with darker spots, moles that vary in color, size or texture, or that bleed, small lesions with irregular edges and areas of red, pink, white, blue or dark blue, lesions that cause itching or burning or dark pigmentation in the palms, soles, ends of the fingers or mucous membranes such as the mouth, nose, vagina or anus.

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Moderna has already announced plans to have a vaccine developed against various types of tumors by 2030, although, so far, the only successful trial has been against melanoma. The combination of this vaccine with Keytruda, an oncological drug, has managed to reduce melanoma recurrence by 44%.

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Unlike preventive vaccines, such as COVID-19, the cancer vaccine would have a therapeutic nature, aimed at alerting the immune system to the presence of a growing tumor in the patient to combat it. The scientific process includes the identification of specific proteins from cancer cells that are used to create mRNA fragments that instruct the body to recognize and respond.

2023-12-14 07:02:00
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