Seemingly healthy skin can contain billions of precancerous cells

Mutant cells, capable of causing lethal forms of cancer, hide in the body for years, warn British experts, quoted by the “Daily Express”.

The authors of the study from Cambridge University and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute found that seemingly healthy and normal functioning skin can contain billions of precancerous cells. These cells with damaged DNA are in a “dormant” state, in which they can remain for years or even decades before “waking up without warning.”

So far, it has been well documented that excessive exposure to the sun increases the risk of skin cancer, including the deathly cutaneous melanoma. The authors of this study, however, claim that millions of people live in ignorance that their skin can contain lethal mutations as a result of excessive exposure to sunlight years before.

Researchers have found that in healthy people over 55 years, more than a quarter of the cells carry the mutation which may cause cancer, although the skin is seemingly healthy and continues to function normally. Experts believe that this is due to past burns, and each cell has the potential to become dangerous.

Experts remind that in order to be protected, people should avoid excessive exposure to sunlight and reiterate the need to use sunscreen products.