Scientists at Cancer Research UK have discovered that acral melanomas – the rare type of skin cancer that caused reggae musician Bob Marley’s death – are genetically distinct from other more common types of skin cancer, according to a study published online on June 30, 2014 in the journal Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research. Acral melanoma most often affects the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, nail-beds, and other hairless parts of the skin. Unlike other more common types of melanoma, it’s not caused by UV damage from the sun. The scientific team, from the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute at The University of Manchester, sequenced the tumors of five patients with acral melanoma and combined this information with data from three other patients. The researchers then compared the pattern of genetic faults found in these eight tumors with that of more common types of skin cancer. This comparison revealed that the type of DNA damage found in acral melanoma is very different from other types of skin cancer. For example, in acral melanomas, it was much more common to find large chunks of the DNA that had broken off and reattached elsewhere, as opposed to the smaller DNA changes typically found in more common types of skin cancer. Study leader Professor Richard Marais, director of the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, at The University of Manchester, said: “Too much UV radiation from the sun or sunbeds can lead to a build-up of DNA damage that increases skin cancer risk. But acral skin cancer is different because the gene faults that drive it aren’t caused by UV damage.Login Or Register To Read Full Story