In the UK, over 1,800 people die from melanoma each year; that's equivalent to five people every day. Being resistant to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, melanoma is the most difficult cancer to treat, and prevention remains a public health priority in reducing its incidence.

The challenge

The incidence of skin cancer, linked to ultraviolet light in sunlight, continues to rise. In the UK population, melanoma has quadrupled since 1975. There are more than 67,000 new cases of skin cancer every year in the UK alone and the figures are rising faster than for any other form of cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, and melanoma is one of the few cancers to affect young adults; it's the most common cancer among young people aged between 15 and 34 years*.

Our work

Research by RAFT's Skin Cancer Research Group led by Dr Rachel Haywood aims to identify how exposure to different parts of sunlight, specifically UVA and visible light, are involved in triggering the damage which can lead later to skin cancer. Sunlight is strongly linked to skin cancer. Energetic ultraviolet rays  (UVA and UVB) enter the skin and trigger chemical reactions. These reactions produce highly energetic particles called free radicals. Left unchecked, these can react with the genetic material, DNA, in skin cells either killing the cell or causing damage that leads to the runaway cell replication that is characteristic of cancer. The research is part supported by Cancer Research UK (CRUK), and funding (for Postdoctoral Scientist Arsen Volkov) is enabling the team to investigate how UVA causes DNA damage to the cell from which melanoma originates, the melanocyte.  

UVA damage is a problem amongst sunbed users. Sunbeds emit predominantly UVA, and some machines have the capacity to emit very high levels of radiation, many times stronger than the midday sun in most countries. "In a largely unregulated industry, where training of staff is not mandatory, this increases the health risks considerably" (World Health Organisation). Using sunbeds before the age of 35 increases your risk of developing melanoma skin cancer by up to 75%*. RAFT scientists are also looking at how different skin types respond to UVA and visible light exposure. RAFT's research has found that Afro-Caribbean people (with a lower incidence of skin cancer) are more protected against this damage than Caucasian skin types. Further research will reveal whether some people are more susceptible to skin cancer, and whether these people can take preventative action.

The RAFT group is also studying how well sunscreens protect against UVA and free radical damage. Whilst sunscreens can protect against UVB rays and so prevent sunburn, we have shown that no product currently provides complete protection against the harmful free radicals in skin generated by ultraviolet-A (UVA) and visible light which are involved in triggering skin cancer. We have developed an effective technique for measuring the protection free radical protection in skin, and if taken up by the sunscreen industry will help sunscreen manufacturers further improve their products for sun safety. Ideally RAFT would like to create a sunscreen for people most susceptible to melanoma, which combines existing filters with natural product filters obtained from plant sources.

RAFT's approach to the problem of melanoma is both preventative in terms of understanding sunlight damage to the skin and sunscreen effectiveness, and therapeutic in the development of new treatments to cure the disease.  A new approach to cancer treatment is using the damaging properties of free radicals as a means of targeting cancer cells, whilst leaving normal cells unharmed. As a result of the unbalanced anti-oxidant system (defensive system against free radical damage) present in some cancers, it may be possible to exploit this in turning the cancer cell's machinery against itself. The use of a very well known antioxidant vitamin C, at much higher levels than it is normally found in the body, appears to be more toxic to cancer cells than normal cells cultured in the laboratory. This is particularly so when it is combined with a chemical compound, which increases free radical production in cancer cells, and we aim to explore the effectiveness of vitamin C with such compounds in treating melanoma.

Note: Research into vitamin C as an element of a treatment for skin cancer is still at a very early stage. Research has shown that the doses required are substantially higher than the body can absorb and therefore taking additional vitamin C whether orally or by injection on its own is not a cure for skin cancer.

*Statistics obtained from Cancer Research UK website.

Case study
Meet our scientists

On day to day projects, what drives you to do your research?
What drives me most is the knowledge that if we can uncover the true mechanisms of skin damage by UVA then we can find a better way to protect people from skin cancer and prevent DNA damage. Knowing that our research can make such a difference gives me the determination and motivation to strive towards providing significant results that could save lives.

Where do you see your work taking you in the future?
I hope that our findings will allow us to develop new directions in the area of our research and to apply for further funding to support it. Currently I am only funded for the next three years but within that time I want to make an impact in this vital field and then hopefully continue my work here at RAFT.

Dr Arsen Volkov – Post Doctoral Research Scientist

Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Our grateful thanks go to Stavros Niarchos Foundation for funding part of this exciting work.