Surprising Facts About Melanoma

What Is Melanoma?

Melanoma is a form of skin cancer. It gets its name from a type of cell known as melanocytes. These cells play an important role in the production of melanin, which gives your skin and hair their colors. Melanomas, like all cancers, form when DNA damage in melanocytes causes the cells to grow out of control. These mutated cells begin to multiply quickly, copying and reproducing their broken DNA, potentially resulting in cancerous tumors. Just one mutated cell won’t cause cancer; in fact, mutated genes are common in our body- it’s just our body usually repairs the damaged cell or destroys it.
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Review Date: 
November 6, 2014

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Last Updated:
November 6, 2014