Skin Cancer in Afro-Caribbean and South Asian People and it’s relevance to Podiatry

Dr Foot Podiatry, Foot Care & Health Care Podcast

Everyone can get skin cancer regardless of your ethnicity and skin tone. How many people use sun screen on the tops of feet and ankles? Most skin cancers are associated with ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or tanning beds, and many people of color are less susceptible to UV damage thanks to the greater amounts of melanin (the protective pigment that gives skin and eyes their color) darker skin produces. But people of color can still develop skin cancer from UV damage. Additionally, certain skin cancers are caused by factors other than UV — such as genetics or other environmental influences — and may occur on parts of the body rarely exposed to the sun. For example, darker-skinned people are more susceptible to acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM), an especially virulent form of melanoma (the deadliest type of skin cancer) that typically appears on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. Different ethnicities are at higher risk for particular skin malignancies: Latinos, Chinese, and Japanese Asians tend to develop basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common skin cancer. But the second most common, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), is more frequent among African Americans and South Asians.