Freckles and pale skin too, came under attack.
The Sanger Institute has warned that MC1R gene variants are for red hair, pale skin, freckles. And they are also associated with the increase in the number of genetic mutations leading to skin cancer.
However, the presence of hair of a different color when you “sleep” the MC1R gene should not deceive you. In this case, the cancer risk is still elevated. According to scientists, this gene is quite common.
People with red hair is 1-2% of the population. And in the UK, for example, every fourth problem has the gene. If a person has two copies of this gene, he has red hair and all types of appearance, requiring to monitor closely the levels of UV radiation. If there is only one copy of the gene looks different from the “canonical” (for example, hair color varies from blond to dark brown), but the cancer risk is still elevated. Meanwhile, thousands of people are not even aware of soaking up the sun that are at risk.
Analysis of over 400 samples of tumors taken from patients with melanoma, showed that people with at least one copy of a genetic variant MC1R had 42% more associated with sun rays of mutations in cancers than those without the gene. In fact, the presence of problematic genetic variant was equivalent to the 21 years spent in the sun. In addition, one genetic variant of the MC1R resulted in reduced melanin production.
