Atopic Dermatitis and Skin Cancer

Abstract

Filaggrin gene ( FLG ) mutation carriage increases the risk of atopic dermatitis (AD), contact allergy, asthma, hay fever, and peanut allergy. These genetic variants also infl uence the severity of asthma and alopecia areata and susceptibility to herpetic infection [ 1 ]. Squamous cell carcinoma (SSC) in the skin is perhaps the most rapidly increasing malignancy arising through mutations in epidermal cells in sun-exposed areas. UVB radiation damages the DNA and its repair system and causes mutations in tumor-suppressing genes. The risk of metastasis increases if the mutated cells penetrate the dermis. Other risk factors for SCC include chronic sun exposure to UVB and UVA, a suppressed immune system due to treatment effects, exposure to cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in tar, or long-standing infl ammation. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) arises from basal keratinocytes in epidermis. In this kind of tumor, UVB is also important for the induction of damaging the DNA and its repair system and also causing mutations in tumor-suppressing genes. BCC grows by direct extension and almost never metastasizes. Malignant melanoma (MM) is a malignancy of melanocytes located mostly in the skin but also in the eyes, ears, central nervous system, and gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Malignant melanoma accounts for approximately 4 % of skin cancers but is responsible for more than 74 % skin cancer deaths [ 2 ]. The melanocyte transformation is poorly understood. It involves a series of steps, several unknown, with progressive genetic mutation that alters cell proliferation, differentiation, and death, and has an impact from