In the article, Skin cancer: Genetic mutations 'warn of risk,' Helen Briggs explains that a cancer research team has discovered a new gene mutation that produces, in some cases, a skin cancer called melanoma. Things that factor into getting melanoma are: what kind of skin you have, sun exposure, and of course, family history. In the United Kingdom, around 12,000 people are diagnosed with melanoma every year. Also, approximately one out of twenty people with melanoma have a family history of it.
A discovery was made at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, UK, where people that have a particular gene mutation were highly susceptible to melanoma. This specific gene is called POT1, which protects chromosomes. Dr. David Adams of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute said that this finding will enable them to pinpoint who in the family has the risk and should be sent in for a screening for skin cancer. He also commented on how this gene mutation damages the ends of chromosomes and any kind of damage to chromosomes results in cancer development. Dr. Safia Danovi of Cancer Research UK advises us all to stay away from sunbeds and sunburns to decrease the risk of disease.
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The more advanced the world gets, the more we learn about things that were a huge mystery to us. The genetic achievements today are really incredible and I hope that this discovery will lead to understanding other types of cancer as well. Hopefully studying this gene will allow us to find a way to stop the mutation that leads to cancer.
To learn more about melanoma click here: http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/melanoma
To read the original article click here: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26790332
This article, along with every other skin cancer article I see, has me terrified of staying out in the sun too long. I have no history of melanoma, but I am always outside in the summer.
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