|
Researchers have known that genetic factors play a role in the development of malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer. It has also been known that men have a 1 in 58 chance of developing the disease in their lifetimes, while women have a 1 in 82 chance. Researchers from the University Hospital in Tuebingen studied blood samples of 450 healthy volunteers and 500 people with malignant melanoma. They found a gene, BRAF, with variations present in the people with melanoma. These variations, though, seemed to confer a higher risk of disease only for men. This might help explain why men have a higher risk of developing malignant melanoma. Read the article, freely available on BioMed Central. |
