Oct. 14, 2008 Scientists at deCODE genetics have report the
discovery of common versions of two single-letter variations in
the human genome (SNPs) that confer risk of basal cell carcinoma
(BCC), the most common cancer among people of European ancestry.
Unlike the four sets of SNPs previously found by deCODE to
confer risk of BCC and cutaneous melanoma, those currently
reported are not linked to fair pigmentation traits that also
make certain people prone to freckling and sunburn. These SNPs,
both located on chromosome 1, may therefore provide new insight
into an underlying biological mechanism causing BCC, independent
of the impact of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation in
sunlight. Approximately 2% of people of European descent carry
two copies of the risk versions of both SNPs, and are at a 170%
greater risk of BCC than those who do not carry the risk
variants. The paper, entitled ‘Common variants on 1p36 and 1q42
are associated with cutaneous basal cell carcinoma but not with
melanoma or pigrmentation