Skin cancer is the most common cancer by far: Every day in the United States, more than 9,500 people find out they have some form of the disease; every year, more Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer than all other cancers combined.
As a board-certified general surgeon who offers excisional skin cancer removal services at Precision Surgery and Advanced Vein Therapy in Glendale, Arizona, Dr. Johnny L. Serrano knows that catching skin cancer early, in its most treatable stage, is always best.
With that in mind, here’s what you should know about the most common form of skin cancer — and the most dangerous.
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and melanoma are two forms of skin cancer that everyone should know about. Why? BCC is the most common skin cancer diagnosis while fast-spreading and invasive melanomas are the most dangerous skin cancer.
While skin cancer can develop on any part of the body, BCC and melanoma typically appear on skin areas frequently exposed to the sun, especially the face, nose, neck, ears, scalp, backs of the hands, arms, and legs.
Basal skin cells help form your outermost skin layer (epidermis) foundation. BCC is an abnormal, uncontrolled growth or lesion that occurs within this layer when a genetic mutation sends the cell renewal process into overdrive, prompting it to produce too many basal cells.
The genetic mutations that trigger BCC formation are almost always caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, either from the sun or tanning bed use. BCC can develop from cumulative, lifetime exposure to UV light or brief, intense exposure events.
BBC is the most common type of skin cancer and the most common form of cancer overall. Over four million Americans are diagnosed with BBC each year, and anyone can develop it — including people with darker skin tones.
BCC lesions grow slowly and can be tricky to spot. They may masquerade as a minor skin injury, an area of mild irritation, or a warty growth; they can also appear as a scaly patch, a “pimple-like” bump, or even a scar-like indentation.
BCC may also look like a small sore that bleeds, oozes, or crusts over. Some BCC “sores” never seem to heal, while others suddenly reappear after they leave.
As the most aggressive form of skin cancer, melanoma emerges from melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells that give your skin, moles, hair, and eyes their color. While many melanomas arise from atypical moles, many more appear on normal, unmarked areas of skin.
Like BCC, most melanoma cases happen when exposure to harmful UV light (from the sun, tanning bed use, or both) causes a genetic mutation in skin cell DNA, leading to errors in the skin cell regeneration dividing and copying process.
Experts estimate that melanoma will account for over 200,000 new skin cancer cases in 2024. Of these, half will be noninvasive or confined to the outer skin layer (epidermis), and half will be invasive, penetrating into the second skin layer (dermis).
While melanoma only accounts for about one in 100 skin cancer cases, proportionally, it causes the highest rate of skin cancer deaths.
About one-third of all melanoma cases begin as an atypical mole — either a normal mole that changes and becomes atypical or an already atypical mole that changes further. The ABCDEs of atypical moles can help you identify them:
However, melanoma doesn’t always begin in a changing mole; two-thirds of all cases emerge on unmarked skin. These varying melanomas may look like a scaly, thick patch, an open sore that bleeds, a firm, dome-shaped growth, or a dark vertical line beneath a fingernail or toenail.
BCC and melanoma have many differences, starting with the types of skin cells they arise from. Most importantly, however, is that BCC is slow-growing and less invasive, while melanoma is very aggressive, fast-growing, and frequently invasive.
This difference alone can be helpful in identifying a melanoma should you notice a new lesion on your skin that appears suddenly and/or changes quickly.
BCC and melanoma also have many similarities: Both are mostly caused by UV damage, can appear in various unassuming ways, and are highly curable when caught early and removed promptly by a skilled excisional surgeon like Dr. Serrano.
Notice a worrisome skin change? Our board-certified general surgeon in Glendale, Arizona, can help. Call 623-321-5663 or click online to schedule a visit with Dr. Serrano at Precision Surgery and Advanced Vein Therapy today.
