Skin Cancer Research Paper

Words: 425
Pages: 2

The skin is the largest organ of the human body and serves as a protective layer. It is composed of three layers: the epidermis, dermis, and subcutis. The epidermis is the outermost layer and its job is to protect the body from pathogens and regulate body temperature. The dermis is the denser middle layer and comprises the hair follicles and nerves. Lastly, the subcutis in the innermost layer whose purpose is to insulate the body and connect the skin to the body’s blood supply. When exposed to excess UV radiation that damages the genetic material of the skin, skin cancer is a very probable outcome. Skin cancer develops originally in the epidermis, because this is the site of first contact to UV radiation. Because of the skin’s interconnected layers, the cancer can gain access to the rest of the body depending on its severity (British, 2015). …show more content…
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common and grows slowly. It is extremely rare that basal cell carcinoma will spread other parts of the body. Squamous cell carcinoma is different because while it is also very common, it can metastasize readily. Melanoma is the most serious and deadly form of skin cancer. Without early detection, melanoma has the potential to be fatal (Anic et al., 2013).
While each type of skin cancer exhibits distinctive qualities, skin carcinogenesis involving non melanoma skin cancers are more likely to occur with repeated exposure to UV radiation. Nevertheless, UVB rays contain a higher energy and wavelength than UVA rays. By utilizing a lower wavelength, UVA rays are able to penetrate deep into the skin. To study the relationship between spectral wavelength and skin cancer formation, researchers compared the effects of UVA and UVB light on mice. The mice were exposed to either UVA or UVB light for a period of four or twenty-four hours (Svobodova et al.,