Models for Skin Cancer
October 2007
in “
The Cancer Handbook
”
TLDR Malignant melanoma is the deadliest skin cancer, while BCC is the most common but rarely spreads, and SCC is more aggressive than BCC.
The document discussed the three most common types of skin cancer: malignant melanoma, basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Malignant melanoma was noted as the most lethal, originating from melanocytes. BCC, the most common cancer, was debated to arise from hair follicle keratinocytes and was associated with mutations in the sonic hedgehog (SHH) pathway, suggesting a link to failed organogenesis. SCC, also from keratinocytes, was described as more aggressive than BCC, with the potential for lethal metastases, unlike BCC, which rarely metastasizes. The document explored both in vivo and in vitro models for studying these cancers.
