The three most common types of skin cancer are: basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and melanoma.

Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC)

It is the most common form of skin cancer. It occurs on parts of the body that are most exposed to the sun, such as the face (nose, forehead, scalp line), neck and back. Factors such as tanning techniques (solarium), contact with arsenic, open wounds that do not heal, chronic skin conditions (actinic keratosis, smooth lichen, lupus, psoriasis), complications from burns and scarring, gene mutations and the basal cell nevus, spicular basal cell Ca and Gorlin syndromes have been implicated in its development.

High risk groups for basal cell carcinoma include people with immunodeficiency, light skin, people who are occupationally exposed to solar radiation for long periods of time, with an individual and family history of skin malignancy. It rarely metastasizes, but tends to grow and destroy surrounding tissues. This fact and its tendency to recur in the same area or in other places make its treatment essential.

THERAPY

Surgical treatment is recommended in its radical removal, usually under local anaesthesia in the doctor's office.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC)

It is the second most common skin tumour after Basal Cell Carcinoma and the next most aggressive tumour after Melanoma. It usually occurs on the parts of the body most exposed to the sun, such as the face, hands and feet, and less commonly on mucous membranes such as the mouth and genitals. Before SCC manifests, the skin site is preceded by lesions such as wrinkles, colour change and loss of elasticity. Almost the same factors as in BCC are implicated in its manifestation: chronic sun exposure, artificial tanning (tanning bed), skin trauma, chronic inflammation and ulcers, scarring, burns, exposure of areas of the skin to radiation or chemicals such as arsenic. A high incidence of SCC is seen in groups of people with immunosuppression (chemotherapy, drugs to avoid rejection in organ transplantation), immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, hereditary predisposition, who have precancerous lesions in their body: actinic hyperkeratosis, actinic cheilitis, leukoplakia, Bowen's disease

Diagnosis is based on clinical examination by a dermatologist, dermoscopy and biopsy if the lesion is large.

THERAPY

The surgical treatment consists of its removal under local anesthesia in the septic surgery of the clinic. Due to its tendency to spread to the surrounding tissues, diagnosis and removal must be done in time.

Melanoma

Melanoma is the most malignant skin tumour and one of the most aggressive. It originates from the melanin cells of the basal layer of the epidermis. It is mainly found in the skin but can also occur in mucous membranes such as the eye, the meninges and the intestine. The main causes of melanoma are exposure to ultraviolet radiation, phenotypic characteristics: Fitzpatrick phototypes I and II, large number of melanocytic or presence of dysplastic nevi, large congenital nevi, individual or family history of melanoma, hereditary mutation in CDK4 and CDKN2A genes, malignant nevus, congenital nevi, melanocytic nevi, chronic nevus irritation, immunosuppression and changes in female hormones during pregnancy or taking contraceptive pills have been implicated.

Melanoma is characterized by a series of clinical features known as the ABCDE rule. It is very important in early diagnosis that will largely determine the prognosis of the disease:

-Asymmetry: asymmetry

-Border: uneven contour

-Colour: colour (recent colour change or variety)

-Diameter: diameter > 6 mm

-Elevation: hyperexcitation or palpable nodule

Melanoma can metastasize to lymph nodes and hematogenously to distant organs. For this reason, early diagnosis by the dermatologist by clinical examination, dermoscopy and finally biopsy is very important. The next step after diagnosis is the staging of the melanoma. This is determined by measuring its thickness, the depth to which it has reached the skin and whether there are metastases to adjacent lymph nodes or other organs of the body.

THERAPY

Depending on the stage, the type of treatment will be determined. Surgical treatment is the main way of treating melanoma. A radical resection of the primary tumour is performed and, depending on the stage and the sentinel lymph node, the patient undergoes lymph node cleansing of the affected area. In advanced forms of melanoma, chemotherapy, immunotherapy (interferon, ipilimumab) and radiotherapy are applied to a lesser extent.

Source : www.edae.gr