IN recent years, tattoos have become very popular, turning body art from a badge worn mainly by sailors and tough guys to a much more mainstream form of personal expression.
They can be safely acquired, but they may actually pose a bit of an increased risk when it comes to skin cancer, according to some experts.
But before you jump into conclusion, there is no evidence linking tattoo ink to an increased likelihood of developing a skin cancer. Experts, however, believe tattoos can mask a burgeoning melanoma, making it difficult to track changes in an existing mole or spot a new one as it forms.
“The key point is that it’s harder to do the surveillance on moles that are covered by tattoos,” explained Dr. Hooman Khorasani, director of the skin cancer institute at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital. “The ink will camouflage the mole, and sometimes interferes with some of the tools that we use for detection.”
Kluger, a dermatologist who is working on a PhD at the University of Helsinki, told a daily newspaper that tattoos can make it hard to spot what dermatologists call “the ugly ducklings” — the misshapen, mottled moles that are melanoma. “If you have a huge tattoo on the back, it doesn’t pop out as easily as before,” pointed out Kluger, who has seen a few melanomas on old tattoos.
There are three types of skin cancer and melanoma is the deadliest. The two others are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. All three have one thing in common: they are caused, at least in part, by long-term sun exposure.
“Fair-skinned people are particularly susceptible to developing most forms of skin cancer because they produce less melanin, the protective pigment in the epidermis that filters out ultraviolet (UV) light,” notes The Merck Manual of Medical Information.
But Filipinos should not be complacent about it. “Skin cancer can also develop in dark-skinned people and in people whose skin has not had significant sun exposure,” the Merck manual stresses.
The good news: “Most skin cancers are curable, especially when treated at an early stage. Therefore, any unusual skin growth that persists for more than a few weeks is best examined by a doctor,” the Merck manual suggests.
Let’s take a closer look at the three types of skin cancers. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is a cancer that originates in cells of the epidermis while squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) initiates in the squamous cells (keratinocytes). Melanoma is a cancer that originates in the pigment-producing cells of the skin (melanocytes).
“Basal cells are found in the lowest layer of the epidermis,” notes the Merck manual. “Although basal cell carcinoma may not originate in the basal cells, the disease is so named because the cancer cells resemble basal cells.”
Generally, BCC develops on skin surfaces that are exposed to sunlight, commonly on the head or neck. The tumors usually begin as small, shiny, firm raised growths that enrage very slowly, sometimes so slowly that they go unnoticed as new growths.
“Basal cell carcinoma rarely spread to distant parts of the body,” the Merck manual states. “Instead they invade and slowly destroy surrounding tissues. When basal cell carcinomas grow near the eye, mouth, bone, or brain, the consequences of invasion can be serious.”
BCCs, however, are easily treated with surgery or radiation, according to health experts.
Although SCCs are common, they are much less common than BCCs. They spread more frequently than BCCs. Even then, the metastasis rate is quite low, with the exception of SCC of the lip, ear, and in immunosuppressed patients.
“Squamous cell carcinoma begins as a red area with a scaly, crusted surface that does not heal,” the Merck manual informs. “As it grows, the tumor may become somewhat raised and firm, sometimes with a wart-like surface. Eventually, the cancer becomes an open sore and grows into the underlying tissue.”
Both BCC and SCC are often caused by sun exposure. People can help prevent this cancer by staying out of the sun and using protective clothing and sunscreen.
Melanomas are the least frequent of the three common skin cancers. Melanoma is cancer of the melanocyte cells of the skin. It is the deadliest form of skin cancer, and is in fact one of the worst forms of the disease period.
“Melanoma, gram for gram, is one of the most deadly kinds of cancer,” says Dr. Mark Faries, director of the melanoma research program at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, Califofrnia.
Recent studies have shown that melanoma is one of only three cancers with an increasing mortality rate for men, along with liver cancer and esophageal cancer. “Homeland” actor James Rebhorn died of this form of cancer.
Here are more startling facts from skincancer.org: Survivors of melanoma are about nine times as likely as the general population to develop a new melanoma. The vast majority of mutations found in melanoma are caused by ultraviolet radiation. A person’s risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had more than five sunburns.
“Melanoma can begin as a new, small, pigmented skin growth on normal skin, most often on sun-exposed areas, or it may develop from preexisting pigmented moles,” the Merck manual states. “Sometimes, melanoma runs in families. Melanoma readily spreads to distant parts of the body, where it continues to grow and destroy tissue.”
These are the warning signs of melanoma: enlarging pigmented (especially black or deep blue) spot or mole; changes in color of an existing mole, especial the spread of red, white, brown, or blue pigmentation to surrounding skin; changes in characteristics of skin over the pigmented spots, such as changes in size or shape; and bleeding or breaking open (ulceration) of an existing mole.
Most melanomas are found early, when a cure is highly likely. Any delay in diagnosis and excision of the cancer, however, increases the risk treatment won’t succeed.
“If caught at a Stage 1 tumor, it’s almost always cured,” says Dr. Faries. “Whereas if it’s left in place and even grows to be just a millimeter or two thicker, the chance of it being life threatening goes up substantially.”