The role of MC1R gene variants and phenotypical features in predicting high nevus count

Variants in the Melanocortin 1 Receptor (MC1R) gene have been associated with an increased risk of melanoma, but the role in nevus count is unclear. We investigated if specific MC1R gene variants or the number of MC1R gene variants and phenotypical features were associated with nevus count. A total of 494 participants of the ‘Leiden skin cancer study’ were included and the MC1R gene coding sequence was analysed by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis followed by sequencing of unknown variants. The association between MC1R gene variants and nevus count and the association between age, gender and phenotypical features and nevus count were studied using the Chi-square test. Study of nine frequently occurring MC1R gene variants in participants without skin cancer (n = 203) showed that the ‘r’ Val60Leu variant was significantly associated with high nevus count (>50 nevi) (P = 0.017). This association was very strong among women (P 
Source: Melanoma Research - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Short Communications Source Type: research