Sarah Ferguson diagnosed with malignant melanoma – here are the latest treatments for this increasingly common skin cancer
Source: The Conversation, January 2024
News that Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has recently been diagnosed with malignant melanoma highlights the dangers of this increasingly common skin cancer.
Malignant melanoma affects 325,000 people worldwide every year. While it’s not the most common form of skin cancer – typically, for every one diagnosed case of melanoma, up to ten non-melanoma skin cancers are diagnosed – it causes almost as many deaths. The reason for this is because it’s far more likely to spread, or metastasise, to other sites in the body compared to non-melanoma skin cancers.
Melanoma arises in a type of pigment-producing skin cell called a melanocyte. These cells produce and export melanin in order to provide a protective layer in the skin which helps to screen out ultraviolet (UV) radiation.