Skin cancer risk is increased by somatic mutations detected noninvasively in healthy-appearing sun-exposed skin

Skin cancer risk is increased by exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Since UVR exposure accumulates over time and lighter skin is more susceptible to UVR, age and skin tone are risk factors for skin cancer. However, measurements of somatic mutations in healthy-appearing skin have not been used to calculate skin cancer risk. Herein, we developed a noninvasive test that quantifies somatic mutations in healthy-appearing sun-exposed skin and applied it to a 1,038-subject cohort. Somatic mutations were combined with other known skin cancer risk factors to train a model to calculate risk.

Source: Journal of Investigative Dermatology - March 19, 2024 Category: Dermatology Authors: Kulvinder Kaur, Rizi Ai, Allyson G. Perry, Bae Riley, Emma L. Roberts, Erica N. Montano, Jessica Han, Joanna Roacho, Brenda Garcia Lopez, Maral K. Skelsey, Maria V. Childs, James N. Childs, John Dobak, Claudia Ibarra, Burkhard Jansen, Loren E. Clarke, Ste Tags: Original Article Source Type: research