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CancerSmart Web Cast March 22, 2007 -- Drs. Hadley Claire King, Kishwer Nehal, and Jedd Wolchok present "The latest developments in the screening and treatment of skin cancer."
Total Run time: 55 minutes |
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Limiting Skin Damage from Sunlight
The exact wavelengths and timing of the solar radiation that cause each of the different types of skin cancer are under investigation; however, a basic preventive lesson remains the same: Protect your skin from the sun.
If you are a parent, protect your child's skin right from the start, and teach your children sun-safe behavior. Severe, blistering sunburns are associated with an increased risk for melanoma -- excessive exposure to sunlight at any time in life increases a person's risk. Intermittent exposure to high levels of sunlight (as during a beach vacation) appears to be associated with higher risk than lower-level, continual exposure -- even if the total dose of UV is the same.
Particularly if you are at high risk -- if you have light hair, light eyes, or an inability to tan; if you have a family history of any kind of skin cancer; if you have many moles or odd looking moles -- you should limit your midday sun exposure.
Use hats, clothing, and sunscreens to protect against damage caused by normal sun exposure, not to prolong your time in the sun. Although research has demonstrated that sunscreens offer protection from squamous cell carcinoma (a non-melanoma skin cancer), it is not known if they protect from melanoma or basal cell carcinoma (the most common skin cancer). Cover up with clothing!
Sunlamps, tanning beds, and tanning booths also deliver UV radiation that can damage the skin. Researchers are studying the possible relationship of these additional sources of UV light to melanoma.
Detecting the Earliest Signs of Melanoma
In addition to taking daily precautions against sun exposure, everyone should examine his or her skin regularly. Conducting a complete and deliberate skin self-exam may reduce the risk of death from melanoma by more than half. People who examine their skin regularly get to know their moles and skin variations, and are more likely to notice if something changes and to bring it to the attention of a doctor.
Regular head-to-toe skin examinations are the key to diagnosing melanoma at its earliest stage, when it is most easily cured. During a skin examination the clinician notes the location and appearance of any moles or other discolorations of your skin and will determine whether any look like they might be cancerous or precancerous. After you have been examined for skin cancer, you will also be taught how to examine your skin yourself, paying particular attention to any moles that are changing in appearance.
For people who are at higher-than-average risk for melanoma because of personal or family history or a large number of moles, Memorial Sloan-Kettering offers a more intensive surveillance program, which includes a Digital Imaging Screening Program. In this program, a digital photographic record of a patient's skin is created and stored. When a patient returns for subsequent appointments, any suspected change in a mole can be verified by an immediate comparison to the prior computerized photographic record.
Toward Individualized Risk Assessment
Precisely how genes interact with the environment to increase any one person's risk for melanoma is a key puzzle of cancer research. To help solve this puzzle, Memorial Sloan-Kettering researchers are leading an international collaboration to investigate the genetic and environmental factors that underlie susceptibility to melanoma. Sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, the project adds an important genetic component to classical epidemiology.
