Our skin is formed from many billions of tiny little building blocks called cells. Even though there is a permanent production of cells, those that are damaged or dead are replaced and turned into new ones, so the healthy skin is maintained. However, sometimes the process is disrupted and the new cells start to breach rapidly and they know no limit. For development of skin cancers, first of all, this is an uncontrolled activity of cells that differ from normal cells.
Let's take a closer look at the key differences between normal, healthy skin cells and cancerous skin cells:
Normal Skin Cells
The three main types of cells that make up healthy skin are:
Squamous Cells - They are flat, scale-like cells located at the outer skin layer (epidermis) forming a hard protecting of the surface of our body.
Stratum Basale - The superficial layer of the skin, which rests on squamous cells, is composed of cube-shaped basal cells that produce new squamous cells, replacing the old worn off cells that are washed off the surface of the skin.
Melanocytes - This is a cell pigment that melanin is produced in and which is responsible for the color of the skin, and moreover which is used for the protection from the ultraviolet rays.
Unlike in the skin, cell proliferation and renewal systems are very sophisticated. The process is like that of the assembly line production, where the cells at the basal layer form continuously, then migrate upwards to the top layer on a step by step basis, and finally they are shed from the skin surface. This process is regulated by DNA that is present in each skin cell and they get vibrated to choose when they are to grow, divide or die in an orderly manner.
Skin Cancer Cells
Skin cancers develop when genes get mutated or too much damage to DNA accidentally happens, the normal cell mechanisms stop working correctly. This results in multiplication of cells and lack of control and checking for their abnormal growth. The main types of skin cancer cells are:
Basal Cell Carcinoma- The cells under the uppermost level of the skin are caught in genetic errors, which make them strikingly multiply, thus roping them into the group of cancer found on the face, ears or neck.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma - Differentiation is disturbed because squamous cells aren't produced, matured and replaced anymore by orderly process. Instead of producing normal scaly red patches, sores or growths on the skin, the cells grow in a disorderly fashion, causing a disruption to the normal process of the cells.
Melanoma - The cancer formation of the melanocytes is characterized by rapid and uneven growth, and may spread from the site of origin to other areas of the body.
Antithetic to the way normal skin cells only have a finite number of reproductions before dying, cancerous skin cells may suddenly grow uncontrollably, lacking the natural death mechanism of normal cells. This means that successive mutations in future may be even more unlikely to result in viable characteristics and eventually lead to death.
It is therefore the fact that cancer cells "absolutely ignore" the usual biological regulators, plus they evade all kinds of boundaries and communication signals which are strictly observed by healthy cells. In contrast to normal cells, which are tightly associated with each other, and are almost never able to move from one place, the cancer cells break that barrier and can move (metastasize) to other places.
Contributing Factors
UV rays that are obtained either from sunlight or by tanning in a bed, genetics which may contribute a role, smoking and heavy alcohol consumption, a weak immune system and toxicity are the main factors that play a role in cancer transformation of healthy skin cells.
This noxious radiation is a chief risk: by targeting DNA straight inside the skin cells and disrupting the usual healing mechanism for miscopy and mutational errors. Finally, this process corresponds to genetic rearrangement and abnormal growth.
Early Detection Is Key
It slowly turns from ordinary healthy cells to the dangerous malignant cells over and over again in years and even decades without first causing a mass or a lesion. Therefore, precaution is the key to your health, so it's necessary to visit a dermatologist as soon as possible in case of any new changes or unusual spots.
The best cancer hospital in Bangalore opines that eliminating even those precancerous growths and lesions early (before they proceed to melanoma or other types of cancer) is, theoretically, the most correct approach to avoiding deadly skin cancers in the future.
Regarding the cancer cell appearance and behavior under a microscope, it is very easy to tell normal moles and sun spots from abnormal growths; on the other hand, for a well-experienced eye, it can take quite some time to separate this precancerous stage from the non-dangerous spots.
Regular body check-ups by healthcare providers are very important.
Hence, we can conclude that normal skin cells can be seen performing a systematic life cycle of mitosis, maturation and desquamation in an organized manner, while skin cancer cells are not that systematic as they complete mitosis at a rapid pace bypassing the physiological mechanisms and getting invasive through simple mutations. The best cancer hospital in Hyderabad suggests that following sun-caring techniques and regular visits to your coctors are the key milestones on the path to maintaining healthy skin and keeping cancer cells at bay.
