In mouse studies at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, researchers found that sunburned skin makes a protein that kills any cells with mutations that might otherwise lead to cancer. The damaged cells are then sloughed off.
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer.
About 1 million cases of basal cell and squamous cell cancer are diagnosed yearly in the United States. The most serious form of skin cancer, melanoma, is diagnosed in about 44,200 Americans yearly. Skin cancer can be easily treated if detected early, but the disease kills about 9,200 Americans each year. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun is thought to be the most common cause of the genetic changes linked to skin cancer. Studies have shown that UV radiation can disable certain genes that normally keep cancer in check.