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"This result shows that factors other than genetics are important to the development
of melanoma. Knowing this presents the opportunity to reduce risk in gene carriers," explains
Margaret A. Tucker, M.D., chief of the Genetic Epidemiology Branch in NCI's
Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics.
Mutations or changes in the CDKN2A gene are an important factor in melanoma that runs in some families. So researchers in the NCI-supported Melanoma Genetics Consortium examined 80 melanoma-prone families with this gene mutation in Europe, Australia, and the United States.
Melanoma did not occur at a consistent rate across these families. Risks were lowest in Europe, higher in the United States, and highest in Australia. The researchers suggest that factors affecting melanoma occurrence in people in these geographic areas, perhaps sun exposure, also affect risk for melanoma among families that carry the CDKN2A mutation.
"Even when a strong susceptibility gene is identified, there are modifiers of that risk," says Margaret Tucker. "If we can identify the modifiers, we may be able to manipulate exposure or lifestyle factors and have a large impact on
an individual's risk of eventually developing cancer."
The researchers are collecting new information on the 80 families and are expanding the number of families in the study. They plan to quantify sun exposure over time, and look at other risk factors, such as number of and types
of moles, and will look for other genes that may play a role in risk.
Tucker's group has been working with the melanoma-prone families in the United States for 25 years, and has made sun protection an essential part of their care. When sun exposure is substantially reduced, risk of developing new melanomas drops. When melanomas do develop, they are very thin and curable.
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