Approximately 1,000,000 Americans develop skin cancer every year. It is a disease in which malignant cells are found in the outer layers of your skin. Several types of cancer can start in the skin. The most common are basal cell cancer and squamous cell cancer. These types are called nonmelanoma skin cancer.
Skin cancer is a disease in which malignant cells are found in one of the layers of the skin.
Skin, the body's largest organ, protects the body against heat, light, infection and injury. The dermis contains blood vessels, hair follicles, sweat glands, and oil glands. The epidermis consists of mostly flat, scale-like cells known as squamous cells. Beneath the squamous cells are round basal cells. Melanocytes are in the epidermis.