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Melanoma Cancer

Did you know that exposure to environmental pollution (especially air and water pollution) may result in an increased risk for developing skin cancers, including possible melanoma? We hope the general information presented here will be helpful to understand and minimize the risks. If you have been diagnosed with melanoma or other type of skin cancer and suspect you have been exposed to environmental pollution, please contact us.

Melanoma is probably the most dangerous type of skin cancer, although it is a less common form of cancer (but its incidence is increasing). It occurs more in white people after the age of 60, but it may affect younger non-white people too. While melanoma may appear in any individual, there are certain well-defined situations enabling the identification of individuals with high risk for developing melanoma (mainly including: people with melanoma cases in the family, people with fair skin and/or a large number of moles and freckles, people with prolonged sun exposure episodes, and/or people exposed to certain environmental pollutants). Melanoma is usually manifested through skin lesions, moles or nodules which become cancerous resulting in asymmetrical shapes, changing colors, and rapidly evolving (e.g., in dimension). Because in most cases, there is no associated pain and it is usually hard to distinguish between a non-cancerous and cancerous (melanoma) skin lesions, nodules, or moles – melanoma is considered asymptomatic. Nevertheless, some general distinctions have been pointed out mainly consisting in irregular and rapid observable changes of existing skin conditions (see more here: melanoma symptoms). Such distinctions are helpful for early identification and succesful treatment of existing melanoma, as well as for prevention of future occurrences (by identifying high-risk individuals).

Melanoma seems to have a series of causes including:

  • Genetics – due to the genetic inherited material people at higher risk of developing melanoma include those with one or more cases in the family as well as those with fau skin and/or a large number of moles.
  • Prolonged sun exposure – due to the exposure to UV radiation, many banal activities such as: tanning, outdoor working and outdoor recreational activities and sports without protective clothes and sunscreen may result in various types of skin cancers including melanoma.
  • Pollution exposure - many types of skin cancers (although not necessarily melanoma) have been already linked to environmental pollution. Even though a clear link has not been established between pollutants and melanoma (particular type of skin cancer), the potential of environmental pollutants to contribute to the development of this type of skin cancer exist. Pollution may act indirectly (by depleting the ozone layer protective to UV radiation) or directly through skin contact (e.g., polyaromatic hydrocarbons such as 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) – shown to have caused melanoma in experimental animals at high dose exposure).

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