Melanoma skin Cancer
Melanoma skin cancer is a malignant tumor of melanocytes, the cells located in the bottom layer of the skin’s epidermis. Melanocytes produce melanin, the pigment that gives skin its normal color. When exposed to sunlight the body produces melanin as a way to protect deeper layers of skin. Melanin darkens the skin, creating the oft-desired golden suntan. Some people have naturally darker skin pigments, making them less prone to melanoma skin cancer and damage caused by harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. As skin cells in the body develop they are pushed toward the surface. Older skin cells at the surface die and are sloughed off, making room for healthy new skins cells. Sometimes this natural process gets out of control – masses of malignant cells form creating a tumor. Melanoma cancer is the development of hyper-productive and disorderly skins cells. The metastatic melanoma tumor is generally found in the lymph nodes before spreading to other parts of the body. Lymph nodes act as filters, collecting and destroying unwanted bacteria and viruses. There are 500 to 600 lymph nodes in the body, with clusters in the underarm, groin, neck, chest and abdomen areas. When fighting an infection, lymph nodes swell and multiply rapidly. If infected with mutated cells, the lymph nodes efficiently disperse melanoma cancer cells throughout the body.
Metastatic melanoma is the fastest growing cancer in the United States and throughout the world. The highest incidence of melanoma cancer is found in Australia due to its close proximity to the equator, extensive ozone depletion and high number of light-skinned citizens. There are over 53,000 new cases of melanoma cancer each year resulting in over 7,800 annual deaths according to the American Cancer Society. The rate of incidence of melanoma skin cancer death has more than doubled since 1973. Melanoma is the most common cancer in people 20-30 years old, yet it can occur in any age group. In recent years more new cases of melanoma have been diagnosed than HIV and AIDS.
Melanoma skin cancer has existed for thousands of years. In the 1960s, an examination of nine Peruvian Inca mummies, radiocarbon dated to be nearly 2,400 years old, showed melanotic masses. To this day there is no definitively known cause of Melanoma cancer, but it is not for lack of research. Interest in the cancer has gained momentum over the last few hundred years, starting with John Hunter in 1787. Hunter was the first person to operate on a metastatic melanoma tumor. Metastasis, a Greek word meaning change of state, is a cancer that spreads from its original site to other parts of the body. Hunter did not know that the tumor was melanotic. This fact was not determined until the tumor, preserved in the Hunterian Museum of Royal College of Surgeons, was reexamined in 1968. In the period between Hunter’s surgery and the diagnosis of his patient, many discoveries have been made regarding the nature of melanoma. In 1840, Samuel Cooper depressingly surmised that a metastatic melanoma patient’s fate is very bleak – the disease is incurable and the only option is early removal of the malignant melanoma tumor. Roger Turkington, an American physician, discovered the melanoma gene in the 1960s. This discovery is important because it allows for the early screening of malignant melanoma in entire families.