Is All Skin Cancer Called Melanoma?

The skin is the body's largest organ. It serves the body by providing cover for the internal organs, providing a barrier to germs, controlling the internal temperature and retaining bodily fluids. Like other organs, the skin is subject to certain illnesses and conditions, including cancer. Melanoma is an especially serious type of skin cancer, but it is not the only type of skin cancer.

Melanoma

• Melanocytes are epidural cells that make melanin, the substance that makes the pigment that causes skin to tan when exposed to the sun. Melanoma cancer can only begin in the melanocyte cells.

Identification

• Melanoma tumors are typically brown or black, but they can have no color at all. Melanoma most often affects people with fair skin, but even people with very dark skin can develop melanoma skin cancer. Melanoma is less common than other types of skin cancer, but it is considered much more serious because of its ability to quickly spread to other parts of the body if not treated early.

Non-melanoma

• Skin cancers that originate in cells other than the melanocyte cells are referred to as non-melanoma skin cancers. Basal cell cancer and squamous cell cancer are examples of non-melanoma skin cancers.

Considerations

• According to researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center, men are two to three times as likely to develop skin cancer as women. The Mayo Clinic also notes that the risk of contracting skin cancer increases with age. Exposure to ultraviolet rays from sunlight or artificial sources such as tanning booths is considered to be the primary culprit in the development of skin cancers.

Noncancerous tumors

• Many types of growths and tumors can appear on the skin that are not cancer. Seborrheic keratoses, strawberry marks, lipomas, moles and warts are examples of noncancerous skin growths.