HEALTH : Skin Cancer Gene Pinpointed
WASHINGTON — Scientists have pinpointed a rare, genetic flaw that makes people unusually sensitive to sunlight and predisposes them to skin cancer, it was reported today.
A Japanese team headed by Kiyoji Tanaka at Osaka University said it has discovered and made copies of a gene that when defective causes the most common type of a disease called xeroderma pigmentosum.
About one in 250,000 people suffer from xeroderma pigmentosum, an inherited disease in which skin cells lack the normal ability to repair the damage the sun’s ultraviolet light inflicts on genetic material.
People with xeroderma pigmentosum must avoid exposure to sunlight. If they fail to do so, they run a high risk of developing skin cancer and potentially blinding growths on the eyelids and cornea.
