Case Study, Disorders of Skin Integrity and Function
Leonard works in the agriculture industry and raises beef cattle. At 60 years of age,
he has spent most of his life working outdoors harvesting hay and tending to his
herds. His wife was the first to notice a change in his skin. One day, after taking off
his shirt, she noticed a significant change in the mole he had on his right shoulder.
It not only was darker but was moist and appeared to have been bleeding at one
point. Surrounding the mole, his skin was red. His wife remembered hearing stories
of Leonard working on his father’s farm, spending long hours out in the hot sun
even though his father had gone into the barn to work during the hottest part of
the day. She insisted him go to the family physician to have it examined (Learning
Objectives 7 and 8).
1. Leonard’s physician performed a biopsy on the lesion and told Leonard he
suspected the growth may be malignant melanoma. What cells are affected
in this form of skin cancer? How might his childhood exposures to the sun
predispose him to this form of cancer?
2. How do UVA and UVB rays contribute to the process of oncogenesis in skin
cells?
3. The mole on Leonard’s shoulder was a nevocellular nevus. What are the
cellular composition and appearance of this type of mole before it underwent
malignant change?