Scientists funded by Cancer Research UK and the Association for International Cancer Research (AICR) have shown that cells in over 90% of basal cell carcinomas (BCC), the commonest form of skin cancer, have genetic damage in the same place.
Crucial gene key to skin cancer
They have pinpointed the location to an area of the genome that contains “Patched” (PTCH), a gene already known to be involved in skin and other types of cancer. Genetic damage is caused by UV waves present in sunlight. But the team, based at Barts and The London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, now suggest that PTCH is the “first hit” in a chain of events that leads to BCC, and is, therefore, essential to the development of the disease.
Lead researcher, Professor David Kelsell, said: “We used a technology called a gene chip array that detects any difference between two sets of genes. It’s a vast improvement on previous technologies, which could not pick up certain differences. By comparing a BCC patient’s tumour cells with their healthy cells, we were able to see all of the genetic events that played a part in the development of disease in that individual.”
