Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer. It is the leading cause of death from skin disease. It involves cells called melanocytes, which produce a skin pigment called melanin. Melanin is responsible for skin and hair color. The most dangerous form of skin cancer, these cancerous growths develop when unrepaired DNA damage to skin cells (most often caused by ultraviolet radiation from sunshine or tanning beds) triggers mutations (genetic defects) that lead the skin cells to multiply rapidly and form malignant tumors.
The first step in the treatment of melanoma is prevention. The best way to prevent melanoma is to avoid sunburn and sun exposure in both children and adults. Just getting one bad blistering sunburn during childhood raises the risk of developing melanoma. The exact cause of all melanomas isn't clear, but exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight or tanning lamps and beds increases your risk of developing melanoma. Limiting your exposure to UV radiation can help reduce your risk of melanoma.
The risk of melanoma seems to be increasing in people under 40, especially women. Knowing the warning signs of skin cancer can help ensure that cancerous changes are detected and treated before the cancer has spread. Melanoma can be treated successfully if it is detected early. Melanoma is often preventable by protecting children and adults from sunburn and excessive sun exposure. However, melanoma can develop anywhere on the body on the skin, even places that are not exposed to sun and sunburns.
If melanoma is recognized and treated early, it is almost always curable, but if it is not, the cancer can advance and spread to other parts of the body, where it becomes hard to treat and can be fatal. While it is not the most common of the skin cancers, it causes the most deaths. The American Cancer Society estimates that at present, more than 135,000 new cases of melanoma in the US are diagnosed in a year. In 2015, an estimated 73,870 of these will be invasive melanomas, with about 42,670 in males and 31,200 in women. Here are the American Cancer Society’s estimates for melanoma in the United States for 2015: About 73,870 new melanomas will be diagnosed (about 42,670 in men and 31,200 in women). About 9,940 people are expected to die of melanoma (about 6,640 men and 3,300 women).