Vitiligo is a long lasting disease which causes skin lightening in the form of patches. It takes place when melanin producing cells die or are unable to operate. It occurs due to the loss of pigment and affects one in every two hundred people. The people, who are affected by vitiligo develop white patches on their skin. It affects the people of all races and ages equally.
Vitiligo is more noticeable in people with darker skin. Seventy percent of the population has the variant that increases the probability of vitiligo. There are mixed views about the relationship of vitiligo and skin cancer.
Most people believe that people with vitiligo are highly vulnerable to skin cancer due to absence of melanin but the scientists from the University of London have found that people with vitiligo are at lesser risk of skin cancer then the people without the condition. The researchers warned that vitiligo people should still be cautious as the research concludes just a reduced risk as compared to a normal skin individual.
Alternatively the New England Journal of Medicine briefs that the pale skin patches are caused by vitiligo which increases the risk of melanoma (skin cancer) due to the deficiency of pigment melanin. Melanin gives skin its color and protects against harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. Still more research studies are in progress that would reveal more about the connection between vitiligo and skin cancer.





