Scientists identifies genes cause skin cancer

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Scientists identifies genes cause skin cancer

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Scientists identified genes which can raise risk of skin cancer by 30 per cent.

12 October,2012 11:10 pm

It has long been known that people with fair skin, blue or green eyes, blond or red hair, a high number of moles, who burn easily and who have a family history of the disease are all at a significantly higher risk of contracting melanoma.Now, a team at the University of Leeds claims to have discovered the first DNA faults linked to the deadliest skin cancer, a finding that may pave the way for a test to identify people at melanoma risk and help develop treatments for the potentially fatal disease.The scientists say it’s the first time that it they discovered faults in the genes which are not related to one’s hair, skin or eye colour.For their research, the scientists, together with experts from GenoMEL consortium, scanned the genes in blood samples from almost 3,000 Europeans with melanoma. They compared these with samples taken from the general population.