Ultraviolet radiation and skin cancer

... ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION AND SKIN CANCER Skin cancer is the most common malignancy in humans and accounts for one third of newly diagnosed cancers. It is estimated that skin cancer will be diagnosed in around 1 in 5 Americans during their lifetime and more than 1 million cases are diagnosed each year [1]. Ultraviolet light from the Sun is the main cause of skin cancer and plays a major role in the 2-3 million non-melanoma skin cancers and 132,000 malignant melanomas that occur annually. The incidences of skin cancer are becoming more and more common, causing global concern. There could be many reasons for this. For example, people are living longer and so their lifetime sun exposure is increased. They also have more money to spend on outdoor activities and holidays in sunny climates. Many still feel that suntans are healthy and attractive and therefore deliberately expose themselves to the sun

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