MONDAY, April 21, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Researchers at Rutgers University think they've discovered a gene that contributes to melanoma, a form of skin cancer that kills some 7,600 Americans a year.
The finding won't immediately translate into a treatment, researchers say. However, it's possible doctors could eventually develop a test to determine which babies are at highest risk for the disease, giving them a chance to go into life with a special respect for the powers of the sun, says Dr. Martin A. Weinstock, a professor of dermatology at Brown University.
"We could take a lot of precautions and do lots of surveillance," Weinstock says. "You could protect them from ultraviolet [sun] exposure and screen them when they get to be adults."
While melanoma accounts for just 4 percent of skin cancer cases, it is by far the deadliest form of the disease. Melanoma, which often strikes moles on the skin, is easily cured if caught early. But the disease often kills if the cancerous moles aren't discovered until the tumors have spread to other parts of the body.
Suzie Chen, an associate professor of chemical biology at Rutgers University, stumbled upon a melanoma gene by accident as she studied how cells form and make themselves different from others. While working with genetically altered mice to understand how cells turn into fat cells, she noticed that one mouse developed a melanoma on its skin.
After more research, Chen found the cancer appeared to be directly tied to a gene that turns itself on only in the brain, where it releases a protein and contributes to learning and memory. Somehow, the gene -- which is in the DNA of every cell -- also turned itself on in the skin of the mouse, contributing to melanoma.
Chen's findings will appear April 21 in the online edition of Nature Genetics.
Chen and her colleagues later discovered the gene had turned on in one-third of tissue samples from people who had various types of melanoma. That suggests the gene contributes to the disease in humans and mice.
With more study, it could be possible to design chemotherapy to target melanoma cells by detecting a protein given off by the troublesome gene, Chen says.
Weinstock says genetic research by scientists like Chen is important to gaining a better understanding of melanoma. But the findings don't change the fact that the best way to prevent the disease is to limit sun exposure, he adds.
While melanoma can appear on parts of the body that never see the light, sunburns and exposure to ultraviolet light -- especially in childhood and adolescence -- are considered risk factors.
Weinstock calls on people to adopt a "slip, slop and slap" approach: "Slip on a shirt, slop on the sunscreen, and slap on a hat."
More information
Learn more about melanoma from the National Cancer Institute or the American Academy of Dermatology.
