Skin Cancer Health Topics Clinical Trials Health Links Skin Cancer Skin cancer is a disease in which malignant cells are found in the outer layers of the skin. Skin cancers affect approximately 600,000 Americans every year. Although there are other contributing factors, the principal cause of skin cancer is almost universally accepted by medical experts to be overexposure to sunlight, especially when it results in sunburn and blistering. Sun avoidance is the best defense against skin cancer.
Prevention is a matter of guarding the skin against the known causes.
And, early detection is the surest way to a cure. Most people receive 80 percent of their lifetime exposure to the sun by 18 years of age. However, it does not prevent skin cancer. Skin cancer is very slow to develop. A one-day sunburn may take 20 years or more to become skin cancer.