Melanoma, a type of cancer, starts in the melanocytes, which are skin cells that contain color. When mela… More
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Summary: What causes melanoma skin cancer in this free health care video.
Dr. Susan Jewell is a trained doctor and scientist in clinical research medicine, as well as a stem cell scientist in oncology and AIDS/HIV at the National Cancer Institute and UCLA...read more
"Hello, my name is Dr. Susan Jewell, on behalf of Expert Village, I'm going to talk to you about signs of skin cancer. Now, how is melanoma formed, well they're usually derived from these particular cells called melanocytes, which are found at the border of the, the skin layers between the epidermis and the dermis. Here you can see a diagrammatic picture of the skin layer. The epidermis is the outer layer of the skin, so here you can see the hair follicles and the hair protruding from the external part of the skin, the epidermis. And then the lower layers are called the dermis and here are the melanocytes which forms the pigment in the skin so when you sun tan, the melanocytes are activated by ultra-violet and it makes you go brown. So, here is very you usually find melanoma cancer in this particular layer, or area of the skin."
eHow Article: What Causes Melanoma Skin Cancer?