In the News – Do Redheads Have a Higher Skin Cancer Risk?

Snippet from the article:

The red in redheads’ hair is thought to put them at increased risk of the dangerous skin cancer melanoma, even if they don’t spend a lot of time in the sun, according to a new study.

Study co-author Dr. David Fisher and his research team first uncovered the apparent link between red hair pigment and melanoma last fall. That study used genetically altered mice that had been given a mutant gene that increased their risk of contracting the skin cancer.

Now the researchers are taking the next step: asking why the body’s creation of the red hair pigment — called pheomelanin — might prompt that risk.

Their new paper, published May 9 in the journal BioEssays, speculates that pheomelanin could increase skin cancer risk by leaving skin cells more vulnerable to DNA damage.

Read the rest — Red Hair Pigment Might Raise Melanoma Risk: Study