For the past
30 years, melanoma has been on the rise across Canada.
Melanoma is a
form of skin cancer, and although it is less common than other skin
cancers, it is more serious. Melanoma typically appears as brown or
black spots on the skin; in some cases, it can appear as pink, tan or
even white discolorations. This skin cancer can form anywhere on the
skin, but is most commonly found on the chest and back in men and on
the legs in women.
The American
Cancer Society
estimates that approximately 76,000 people are diagnosed with
melanoma every year and roughly 10,000 people die annually from this
form of skin cancer.
Generally,
the risk of developing melanoma increases with age, with the average
age of those diagnosed with the cancer being roughly 63.
UV rays and
sun exposure are often blamed for the development of the skin cancer,
and while being sun smart is incredibly important and something I
regularly advise, there are other risk factors that can lead to the
cancer that people should be aware of.
Having a
history of melanoma in one’s family makes one a high-risk candidate
for the cancer. Similarly, anyone who has a lot of irregular or
large moles has been shown to have an increased risk. Those who have
fair skin, freckling and light hair should be aware that they are
also at a higher risk for melanoma.
Outside of
genetic predisposition, new research published by the American
Association for Cancer Research
indicates that there also may be a correlation between alcohol
consumption and the development of this skin cancer.
Eunyoung Cho,
ScD, an Associate Professor of Dermatology and Epidemiology at the
Warren
Alpert Medical School
of Brown
University,
recently published the study, Cancer
Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention,
which suggests that alcohol intake is linked with an increased risk
for melanoma.
The study
used data taken from 210,252 participants who were followed for an
average of 18.3 years; the study used food-frequency questionnaires
to measure alcohol consumption and frequency.
In a powerful
takeaway from the research, Cho and her colleagues concluded that
alcohol intake was linked to a 14 per cent increase in melanoma risk
per drink, per day, with the association between alcohol and melanoma
being the greatest for parts of the body that normally get less sun
exposure.
Those who
consumed 20 or more grams of alcohol a day were two per cent more
likely to develop melanoma on their head, neck, arms or legs, but 73
per cent more likely to develop melanoma on their back or stomach.
The research
also concluded that the largest risk for melanoma came from
consumption of white wine, with each drink per day of white wine
associated with a 13 per cent increased risk.
Eunyoung
Cho’s study is only the most recent research that supports the fact
that alcohol is a carcinogen. Outside of skin health and melanoma
risk, alcohol has been considered a carcinogen by the International
Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) for many years, and in 2014 a
World Cancer Report found that alcohol accounts for 3.5 per cent of
cancers around the world.
Now, the
point of this article is not to urge readers to stop drinking alcohol
entirely. But rather, to urge moderation when it comes to drinking
alcohol, and as always, to emphasize skin health by staying sun
smart, living a healthy, active lifestyle, getting regular skin exams
by a Board Certified Dermatologist and regularly examining one’s
skin for irregularities.
