You can avoid sunlight, red meat, and you might not ever have kissed a cigarette, but you cannot choose your family. A number of studies have now revealed that skin cancer
runs in the family. Thus, avoiding everything carcinogenic can be a completely futile attempt on your part.
The studies and their findings
One of the studies that came to this conclusion was done by Dr. Sri N. Shekar of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. The study observed cases of identical twins, in which one of them had a form of skin cancer. Among thousands of skin cancer patients in Queensland and New South Wales, 125 sufferers were twins, while 27 were identical twins.
They found that in four among those 27 identical cases, and three out of 98 fraternal twins, both had melanoma. The numbers, thus clearly show that there was a 10-fold increase in a person’s chances of getting the disease if the identical twin had it too, and the chances got doubled if the fraternal twin was suffering from it.
The second study was done by Dr. Shehnaz K. Hussain of the University of California, Los Angeles and his colleagues. They studied the Swedish Family-Cancer Database, and found a person could get a different form of skin cancer than the one his parents or sibling had.
Also, if the tumors in relatives were on sun-exposed parts of the body like face, the chances of getting the disease increased further.
It has been found through twin studies that having a monozygotic, that is, an identical twin, who suffers from skin cancer highly increases one's chances of getting it, in comparison to having a fraternal twin who has the disease.
Other studies say that the chances of acquiring non-melanoma form of skin cancer get higher if one’s parents or siblings have it.
Lack of conclusive evidence
Despite all these findings, there is no conclusive evidence of a genetic connection since the effects of heredity and environment have not yet been segregated very well.
This means that a child and his father could have skin cancer, but the reason need not necessarily be genes. They could have been exposed to same risk factors in the family, for example excessive sunlight, or an unhealthy diet.
Skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer, and strikes irrespective of age, sex or social standing. The only way to reduce the risk is by eating right, and getting regular check ups.
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