Editor's Choice Main Category: Melanoma / Skin Cancer Also Included In: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness;Genetics Article Date: 05 Mar 2013 - 0:00 PST

Current ratings for: Obesity Gene Linked To Skin Cancer

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The finding came from a new study conducted by Cancer Research UK experts at the University of Leeds, England, and was published in Nature Genetics.

Individuals with certain variations in a stretch of DNA within the FTO gene, known as intron 8, may have a higher chance of developing melanoma, according to the results.

Scientists have known that the most critical genetic risk factor for obesity and overeating are variations in a different part of the FTO gene, referred to as intron 1.

In 2010, researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC), UK, demonstrated that overactivity of the gene FTO leads to overeating and obesity.

These variants are associated with BMI (body mass index), which calculates a person's shape by using their height and weight. People with high BMIs may have a raised risk of a range of diseases, such as kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, womb (endometrial) cancer and a host of other problems.

The current study, however, is the first to demonstrate that the gene plays a role in the development of melanoma, a disease which is not associated with obesity and BMI.

The report implies that FTO plays a more wide-ranging part than experts believed in the past, with different areas of the gene being linked to a range of diseases.

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Obesity Gene Linked To Skin Cancer

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