▶ Noh Mi-ryeong, professor of dermatology at Gangnam Severance Hospital
Skin cancer is a formative cancer that is increasing rapidly as the elderly population increases. As life expectancy increases, the amount of ultraviolet rays accumulated throughout your life increases, and the ozone layer in the atmosphere becomes thinner. The number of skin cancer patients increased by 34% in five years from 23,605 in 2018 to 31,661 in 2022.
– What type of skin cancer is it?
It is mainly divided into malignant melanoma and non-malignant melanoma. Non-melanoma skin cancers include basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, which account for 70% of all skin cancers. Malignant melanoma is a skin cancer that occurs when melanocytes become malignant. Skin cancer is a fatal disease with a 5-year survival rate of approximately 60%.
– What is the cause of the disease?
Exposure to ultraviolet rays is the biggest cause. Ultraviolet B rays directly damage skin DNA and cause mutations in cells, causing skin cancer. In addition, as age progresses, melanocytes, which protect the skin from ultraviolet rays, and Langerhans cells, which are responsible for immune function, decrease, increasing the risk of the disease a development. Since it occurs on the soles of the feet and nails that are not related to UV exposure, it is assumed that there are other causes besides UV rays, such as strong stimulation or constant stress.
– Symptoms that make you suspect skin cancer.
Skin cancer can also feel pain if it is inflamed, but it rarely complains of pain or itchiness. Skin cancer lesions grow larger or change shape over time. As cancer cells multiply, ulcers form in the lesion and may not heal.
– The mole and the skin cancer products are similar.
Asymmetric moles and tumors are usually symmetrical in shape and have smooth edges. The colors are uniform and vibrant in one or two colors. There is no change in size, shape or color, and most of them are small, less than 6 mm.
On the other hand, malignant tumors are asymmetrical in shape and have irregular borders. They are often larger than 6 mm in size and come in a variety of colors. Size, shape and color may change over time.
– What is the treatment?
The main treatment for malignant tumors is surgical removal. Wide area resection and microscopic Mohs surgery. A wide resection is a surgical procedure that largely removes normal tissue around the tumor. As it is not known how far the cancer has spread, 0.5 to 5 cm of surrounding normal tissue is removed.
Microscopic Mohs surgery is a surgical procedure that removes the cancer completely while preserving as much of the surrounding normal skin as possible. First, the visible lesion is excised, and the presence of cancer cells is determined on the cut surface through a frozen section, and only the remaining cancer cells are removed.
Daeik Kwon, medical expert Reporter >
2024-08-13 07:28:21
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