if our skin cells are constantly dying and being replaced by new ones, how can a bad sunburn turn into cancer YEARS down the line?

Question

if our skin cells are constantly dying and being replaced by new ones, how can a bad sunburn turn into cancer YEARS down the line?

In: 3306

Answer 1

I’m going to split your question into 2 parts:

1) how can skin become cancerous if its cells are constantly dying and being replaced?

2) how can skin cancer develop years after damage?

1: Cancer is made of cells that have failed to die. When cells become damaged, they normally self destruct to protect the other cells. If they don’t, your body steps in to remove them. However, sometimes your body doesn’t notice. In this case, the damaged cells can keep growing unchecked.

2: Not all skin cells are born to die. Skin cells constantly grow from a layer of parent cells, and gradually push each other up towards the surface, where they die. If the parent cell layer becomes damaged, that damage will be passed on to all the skin cells it makes, and any replacement ‘parent cells’ it makes. Over time, more and more damage can build up, until years later, random chance or another sunburn tips them over the edge.