Search:

What Causes Malignant Melanoma ?

By: Adrian Fletcher The awareness of skin cancer increases everyday as more is known about the disease and more exposure is given to preventing the disease on television and radio than ever before. It is thought to be the most common form of cancer in the United States and Australia alone.

Whilst you might think this is scare mongering, the reality is that most forms of skin cancer are fairly easy to treat provided they are identified early on. As most skin cancer starts on the surface of the skin, it is easy to identify if you examine your skin regularly. With early identification comes a rapid treatment with total success.

However malignant melanoma does not fit into this category. If not spotted early and treated it can spread. Ultimately it can be life threatening if not treated early enough. This article will detail what is malignant melanoma and the best ways to avoid getting this disease.

There are two factors that are thought to cause cancer. These are your genetic makeup and exposure to one or more environmental conditions. As far as malignant melanoma is concerned, the environmental condition that causes the disease is ultraviolet radiation (UVA and UVB radiation - ultraviolet radiation on different wavelengths). We are exposed to UVA and UVB radiation everyday as it comes from the Sun.

Depending on your genetic makeup, too much ultraviolet radiation can cause the DNA of one or more cells to mutate. The genes within the DNA transform to be called oncogenes. They promote tumor growth and make the cell cancerous. A cancerous cell will divide and proliferate rather than die like many other cells that are damaged. This proliferation can sometime be rapid and the cancerous cells can become invasive.

Invasive growth harms the surrounding tissues and organs. In some cases the cancerous growths can prevent the organs from functioning or can start to grow into the organs culminating with the destruction of the organ. Should the cancer get into the lymphatic system then it can spread throughout the body. When this occurs it becomes hard to stop the spread and difficult to treat.

So, whilst ultraviolet radiation and our exposure to sunlight is thought to be the primary environmental cause of malignant melanoma, there are a number of genetic factors that increase the risk.

If you have a family history of the disease then your chances are increased. If you have fair skin,freckles, fair or red hair and pale colored eyes then you are more at risk. If you have plenty of moles on your skin you may also be at risk (although some people that are born with moles on the skin are not thought to be as susceptible)

The first signs of a melanoma are typically a brown spot or mark on the skin. It may be hard to distinguish from other moles on your body but keep an eye on it. If it starts to change it's shape and grow into an irregular shape then it may be more than just a mole. If it starts to change color too then it may be more than a mole. If anything like this happens then see your skin specialist.

Prevent melanoma by limiting your exposure to sunlight and other things that will expose you to UV radiation. If you are in the Sun, wear a hat, clothe as much of the body as practical, sunglasses and sunscreen.