A pale skin type with high sensitivity to sun is the most important risk factor for the development of skin cancer. The skin type is classified / grouped according to the following characteristics:

Skin type 1:      Always burns, never tans

Skin type 2:      Usually burns, seldom tans

Skin type 3:      Seldom burns, often tans

Skin Type 4:     Never burns, always tans

Skin type 4 is already reasonably well protected against skin cancer, whilst skin type 1 is the most sensitive to it.

For the malignant melanoma the number of moles is the most important risk factor. If there are more than 50 or 100 moles existent the risk is especially high. The risk increases even more if larger moles with more than 5mm exist. If both factors come together we speak of the atypical mole syndrome / dysplastic Nevi. These persons should be subject to regular skin cancer screening.

An important risk factor with increasing importance is the Immune Suppression (suppressed body defence mechanism). After organ transplantation or during an autoimmune disease it is often necessary to take medication, which suppresses the bodies own defence mechanism. These people have a highly increased risk for the development of especially non-melanoma cancer! Affected persons have to pay attention to stringent sun protection and should not only avoid sunburn, but also avoid light suntan – since even a light tan can already cause damage to genetic material.