Skin cancer is one of the most frequent in the world and, in turn, one of the most preventable. This is stated by the Piel Sana Foundation of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV) which, once again, promotes the Euromelanoma campaign, an initiative that emerged in Belgium in 1980 and to which 50 countries have joined in recent years with the objective of promoting and sharing information on the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of skin cancer.
A cancer that despite the dissemination efforts of medical associations, and as indicated by the data provided by the AEDV, has increased by 40% in the last four years and affects 1.7% of the European population. Specifically, in Spain more than 78,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year, and the incidence reflects a rate of 120 cases per 100,000 inhabitants 78,000 for basal cell carcinomas; 40 cases per 100,000 inhabitants for squamous cell carcinomas of the skin, and 12 cases per 100,000 for melanomas, the three main types of skin cancer.
Likewise, they affirm from the AEDV, it is estimated that if it continues its current growth trend, melanoma, the most aggressive and with the worst prognosis of skin cancers, could become the second tumor in global incidence and the first in men. , ahead of lung and colon cancer. Along these lines, the latest report from the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) “Cancer figures in Spain” estimates that 8,049 cases of cutaneous malignant melanoma will be diagnosed in 2023, 3,786 in men and 4,263 in women, placing this tumor among the ten most frequent. In terms of global prevalence, more than one million new diagnosed cases (2.5% of all cancers) are expected between 2020 and 2025.
In this context, controlled and sensible exposure to solar radiation and regular visits to a specialist who can check the absence of malignant lesions and follow up on any suspicious lesions are the main measures to take into account to prevent cancer. skin. Even more so if we take into account that the global aging of the population, which increases the years of sun exposure and, therefore, the risk of injuries, added to climate change and the consequent global warming, which lead to an increase in temperatures and Indirectly, it also promotes greater exposure to solar radiation, benefiting the evolution of the disease.
And it is that, although there is no scientific evidence on the relationship between climate change and the increase in cases of skin cancer, it has been shown that the success of the Montreal Protocol, which has managed to partially recover the ozone layer, has not achieved slow the progression of the disease. This global agreement, signed in 1987, aims to protect the ozone layer of the earth’s stratosphere, a gas with the ability to protect the skin and eyes from the effects of the sun, gradually reducing the chemical substances that deplete it.
Skin-healthy habits play a crucial role in the prevention of skin cancer. In this sense, Dr. Ángeles Flórez, national coordinator of the Euromelanoma Campaign promoted by the AECV Healthy Skin Foundation, which focuses in this edition on adolescents and young adults with the aim of influencing the improvement of their habits of sun exposure, insists that: “the habits of childhood and adolescence take their toll throughout life and ultraviolet radiation accumulates over the years, which is why it is important to avoid sunburn, which is not It means that outdoor activities should be avoided, but that they should be carried out with adequate protection and without tanning being the objective.”
And it is that, as the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) points out, although skin cancer tends to be more frequent as we age and carcinomas appear mainly at advanced ages due to chronic exposure to solar radiation, some are diagnosed in very young people, and it is important to avoid skin burns during childhood and adolescence to reduce the risk of disease in adulthood. “It is essential to change the models that the younger population uses as a reference for healthy skin,” added Dr. López in the campaign presentation, “to understand tanning as a skin defense mechanism against sunburn and not as a healthy habit is a message that should permeate these generations”.
In addition, specialists recall the importance of knowing our skin type and its reaction to sun exposure in order to adapt our habits and take precautions. Of the six types into which they are classified, the lightest skin types, often in people with freckles, light eyes, and blond or red hair that always burn and do not tan, are the most sensitive.
Having a family member diagnosed with skin cancer (10% of all people with melanoma have a family history, the AECC points out), using UVA ray booths, being exposed to radiation for long periods of time (due, for example, doing work or sports outdoors) and sunburn are other risk factors associated with the disease. For this reason, Dr. Flórez insists on the need to gradually expose yourself to the sun, so that the skin can gradually adapt to its radiation and activate its natural defense mechanisms, especially avoiding the central hours of the day. In addition, she specifies, “it must not be forgotten that some surfaces (sand, water, snow or grass) reflect radiation as if they were a mirror, thus increasing the intensity of the radiation that our skin receives and can reach us under an umbrella.”
