EMANUELA MICU

Dermatology Department, ”Humanitas” Clinic, Bucharest, Romania

Solar radiation is the main environmental risk factor for skin cancer, whose incidence is rapidly increasing in the last decades. Individuals carry different skin cancer risk, depending mainly on the skin color (melanin type and distribution) and therefore Fitzpatrick skin typing is a widely used method to predict skin cancer risk. However, this method has its limitations as other factors are involved in skin cancer susceptibility, like genetic factors (MC1R variants) or DNA damage repair mechanisms. Thus, there is an urgent need for implementing objective, non-invasive methods to assess skin sensitivity and reactivity to sun exposure. In this review, I will analyze the main factors involved in photoprotection and the new devices currently employed to evaluate the response to ultraviolet radiation (in terms of erythema and pigmentation) and thus to predict skin cancer risk.

Author’s e-mail: ema.cicarma@gmail.com

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