Final answer:
Excessive UV exposure primarily disrupts DNA repair mechanisms, causing DNA damage that can lead to skin cancer, particularly if the damage is not properly repaired.
Step-by-step explanation:
The cellular process primarily disrupted by excessive UV exposure, leading to a strong association with skin cancer, is DNA repair mechanisms. UV radiation can cause damage such as the formation of thymine dimers in the DNA, which requires repair enzymes to correct. In humans, while enzyme photolyase is not present, other DNA repair mechanisms like Base Excision Repair and Nucleotide Excision Repair play crucial roles. If DNA fails to undergo repair after excessive UV exposure, it can result in mutations that may lead to skin cancer, such as malignant melanoma. A notable consequence of uncorrected DNA damage includes unregulated cell division, potentially giving rise to cancerous tumors.