Skin Cancer Causes

Ultraviolet (UV) light exposure, most commonly from sunlight, is overwhelmingly the most frequent cause of skin cancer.

Other important causes of skin cancer include the following:

Use of tanning booths


Immunosuppression - Impairment of the immune system, which protects the body from foreign entities, such as germs or substances that cause an allergic reaction


Exposure to unusually high levels of x-rays


Contact with certain chemicals - Arsenic (miners, sheep shearers, and farmers); hydrocarbons in tar, oils, and soot (may cause squamous cell carcinoma)

The following people are at the greatest risk: 

People with fair skin, especially types that freckle, sunburn easily, or become painful in the sun


People with light (blond or red) hair and blue or green eyes


Those with certain genetic disorders that deplete skin pigment - Albinism, xeroderma pigmentosum


People who have already been treated for skin cancer


People with numerous moles, unusual moles, or large moles that were present at birth


People with close family members who have developed skin cancer


People who had at least 1 severe sunburn early in life

Basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas are more common in older people. Melanomas are more common in younger people. For example, melanoma is the most common cancer in people aged 25-29 years.