Introduction
Skin lesions in babies are not uncommon and in very few cases can indicate skin cancer. There are various skin tumors, also called melanomas, which can occur at a young age. These include sarcomas (rhabdosarcoma, angiosarcoma, fibrosarcoma), neuroblastomas and other nerve tumors as well as skin lymphomas. However, only about 0.3 percent of all melanomas are found before puberty. These usually lead to problems only in adulthood, when they are exposed to certain factors such as frequent UV radiation or sunbathing.
Symptoms
Skin tumors very rarely cause symptoms or complaints. Most skin tumors are only conspicuous by their appearance at the time of diagnosis. However, in some cases itching in the affected area may occur.
Occasionally, there is also weeping or too small bleeding of the affected piece of skin or liver spot. Classical symptoms, however, are rather conspicuous areas of skin. If the tumor develops from a mole, the following changes often occur: The mole starts to grow, becomes darker or has different light and dark areas and its borders become irregular.
Malignant melanomas can also grow into the leather skin layer and then find connections to the blood and lymph vessel system. In such cases, the tumor may spread to lymph nodes or organs. If lymph nodes are affected, they become larger.
Types of skin cancer
The congenital melanocytic nevus is a skin change, which is generally called a birthmark and can be present from birth. Melanomas tend to develop at the base of this skin change, especially in very large nevi. In addition to melanomas, semimalignant basal cell carcinomas or cutaneous spine carcinomas can also be detected in infancy.
These tumors also lead to complaints later in life and are not dangerous in infancy. White skin cancer is not white, as the name incorrectly suggests, but adapts to the skin color of the affected region. In fair-skinned people it can also appear slightly pink or red and can therefore easily be mistaken for eczema or a wound.
This term refers to two different types of tumors: basal cell carcinomas (also called basaliomas) and spinaliomas. Spinaliomas originate in the spiny cell layer (stratum spinosum) while basaliomas originate in the basal cell layer (stratum basale). In addition to their origin, these tumors also differ in their frequency: basaliomas are more common than spinaliomas.
The latter have an additional tendency to spread and can affect various organs. Basaliomas on the other hand rarely lead to metastases. These tumors are particularly common in people with pale skin color, who are prone to sunburn.
UV radiation is the main cause for the development of such degenerations and accordingly, body parts such as the face, ears, hands and some others are among the sensitive areas because they are exposed to a lot of radiation. However, it is worth noting that such cancers are most commonly found in the elderly over 60 years of age and rarely in children and infants. Black skin cancer is the malignant form of melanoma.
It is the most serious type of skin cancer. Melanomas have their origin in the melanocytes. These are the cells of the skin which produce colored pigments and are responsible for our individual skin color.
This type of cancer develops due to excessive exposure to UV light and therefore mostly occurs in adulthood. Especially people who often got sunburns in their childhood are at risk. The genetic predisposition also plays a role in the occurrence of this type of cancer.
However, children are rarely affected. Preferably, these tumors develop in women on the lower legs and in men on the back. In general, however, parts of the body that are often exposed to sunlight are also sensitive. Approximately one third of all melanomas are caused by moles and therefore regular check-ups should be carried out if the family history is known or if there has been frequent sunburn in childhood. Malignant melanomas also tend to metastasize to lymph nodes and other organs.
