Dr. Macrene was featured in New Beauty's latest deep-dive on skin cancer, the uncommon signs that may be overlooked, and essential daily prevention protocols.
About 10 percent of skin cancers aren’t directly caused by UV exposure, according to New York dermatologist and spokesperson for The Skin Cancer Foundation, Ariel Ostad, MD. These can appear anywhere—from the palms and nail beds to the scalp and genitals.
So what’s behind them? Wainscott, NY dermatologist and founder of MACRENE Actives, Macrene Alexiades, MD, explains that viruses can play a role. “While peri- and subungual squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common type of skin cancer on the nail, it appears first as a wart-like growth that grows quickly and can form a hard surface,” Dr. Alexiades explains. “As a matter of fact, wart virus has been shown to cause SCC around the fingernail."
