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A lot of work on cancer, including skin cancer, is being done at the basic science level. Basic science is the field of research that studies the basic mechanisms of disease, explores animal models of human disease, conducts research on animals to test out new therapies, etc. It's basically the counterpart of clinical research, which explores disease and treatment in humans.

For skin cancer, the basic science research is asking questions about what predisposes individuals to conditions like basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma. An interesting disease that's shed considerable light on skin cancer is a disease called xeroderma pigmentosum (XP). Owing to basic science research, it was relatively recently discovered that XP is due to a specific defect in cells. This defect is in an important pathway of DNA repair that prevents the cell from repairing its DNA after it's been damaged by UV light. The damaged DNA promotes cancer growth in cells, leading to an increased incidence of skin cancers in individuals with XP.

That's just one example of how the mechanisms of skin cancer are being worked out. There is also quite a bit of work being done on UV-blocking lotions and creams to be worn on sun-exposed areas of the skin.

Other studies are being done as well.

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17y ago

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