As the summer approaches, we become more concerned with sun exposure and skin cancers. Basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma are the most common forms of skin cancers, and malignant melanoma is the most fatal of them all. Worldwide, one in three people are diagnosed with cancers that are classified under skin cancers.
With the arrival of summer, people become acutely aware of exposure to the sun, the risk of skin cancers and the importance of the use of sunscreen. Skin cancer is the most common of all types of cancers in the USA and other developed countries. Worldwide, it accounts for more than 30% of all diagnosed cancers. Basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma are the most common forms of skin cancers, and malignant melanoma is the most dangerous of all of them. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 96,480 new melanoma cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2019 and melanoma will be attributed as a cause of death for 7,230 people. It is estimated that one in five people will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.
Sarcomas are cancers of connective tissue such as hard tissue (bones), soft tissue (muscles) and tendons. Although sarcomas are uncommon at any age, they are relatively frequent in children. Every year in the USA approximately 1500-1700 children and young people under the age of 20 are diagnosed with bone and soft tissue sarcomas. Sarcomas are one of the most life-threatening cancers in children, and survival ranges from 59%-68% depending on factors such as age, other risks (i.e., tumor location, gender, environment, genetics), prescription medications and other drugs, etc.
Sarcoma is a cancerous growth developing in the cells of the connective tissue. Primary cancers that develop in the soft connective tissues such as in the muscles, nerves, blood vessels, and fat cells, are called soft tissue sarcomas, versus osseous sarcomas, which develop in hard connective tissue such as in the bones and cartilage. Connective tissue is abundantly present everywhere in the body, and therefore soft tissue sarcomas can occur anywhere. However, the most common locations for soft tissue sarcomas are in the arms and legs, followed by the organs in the abdominal cavity. While it is a rare type of cancer and constitutes about 1% of all adult cancers, the American Cancer Society estimates that in 2015, approximately 12,000 adults will be newly diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma, and 4,870 adults may die due to this disease.
Skin cancer is the most common of all types of cancers. While melanoma is the most feared skin cancer, non-melanoma skin cancers are far more common. The American Cancer Society estimates 73,000 Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma in 2015; however, there will be 3.5 million new cases of non-melanoma cancers.
Skin cancer is a leading form of cancer in the United States and other industrialized countries. In the US alone 3.5 million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year. Until now no effective treatment is available.
The reason skin cancer is so wildly feared is not the skin tumor itself, but the fact that the cancer cells spread (metastasize) from the skin to other organs and eventually throughout the body. Nine out of ten cancer patients die not at the stage of a single tumor but during the stage of tumor metastasis.