Gene defects increase risk of melanoma by 50 times research finds

Posted: March 24, 2015 at 2:48 pm

A melanoma under the microscope. Photo: supplied

Queensland scientists have identified gene defects making people roughly 50 times more likely to suffer a cancer responsible for killing about 1500 Australians a year.

By comparison, having either fair skin, red hair or freckles on their own make people only twice as likely to develop melanoma, a potentially deadly skin cancer.

QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute researcher Professor Nick Hayward said about 80 to 90 per cent of people with specific defects recently discovered in any of three different genes were likely to develop melanoma.

QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute researcher Professor Nick Hayward. Photo: supplied

"These mutations affect anyone regardless of their skin colour and they're ethnic background because it's a major fault that gives a very high probability of developing melanoma during your lifetime," he said.

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"Whereas having lighter skin, red hair, freckles, those are considered considered to be lower penetrance predisposition traits for melanoma.

"They only increase the risk by a small amount, let's say two-fold is about the average for each of those I mentioned, whereas the mutation in one of the genes we've identified potentially increases the risk 50 fold."

In 2011, 1,544 Australians died from melanoma of the skin.

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Gene defects increase risk of melanoma by 50 times research finds


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