Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2010 Jan;162(1):22-8.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2009.09565.x. Epub 2009 Oct 26.

New insights into pigmentary pathways and skin cancer

A J Miller  1 , H Tsao
Affiliations
Review

New insights into pigmentary pathways and skin cancer

A J Miller et al. Br J Dermatol. 2010 Jan.

Abstract

The ability of cells to respond to and to mitigate environmental stress is crucial for their survival. Constitutive and facultative pigmentation have evolved in order for human skin to contend with high levels of terrestrial ultraviolet radiation (UVR). When this melanin 'shield' is compromised, individuals are exposed to increased skin cancer risk. The purpose of this review is to discuss new insights into the genetic basis of phenotypic risk factors for skin cancer, their connection to pigmentation and tanning, the precise molecular connections linking UVR to the tanning response, and potential methods of modulating pigmentation that avoid genotoxic damage. Highly translational implications of this research include a scientific basis on which to counsel patients regarding the carcinogenicity of UVR exposure related to tanning and potential new tanning agents that may actually protect against skin cancer by circumventing the need for UVR exposure.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • Colloquium paper: human skin pigmentation as an adaptation to UV radiation.
    Jablonski NG, Chaplin G. Jablonski NG, et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 May 11;107 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):8962-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0914628107. Epub 2010 May 5. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010. PMID: 20445093 Free PMC article.
  • UV signaling pathways within the skin.
    Chen H, Weng QY, Fisher DE. Chen H, et al. J Invest Dermatol. 2014 Aug;134(8):2080-2085. doi: 10.1038/jid.2014.161. Epub 2014 Mar 12. J Invest Dermatol. 2014. PMID: 24759085 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Modulation of Diacylglycerol-Induced Melanogenesis in Human Melanoma and Primary Melanocytes: Role of Stress Chaperone Mortalin.
    Wadhwa R, Li L, Singh R, Wang J, Gao R, Nigam N, Forestier S, Ando N, Kaul SC. Wadhwa R, et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019 Apr 14;2019:9848969. doi: 10.1155/2019/9848969. eCollection 2019. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019. PMID: 31097976 Free PMC article.
  • A germline variant in the TP53 polyadenylation signal confers cancer susceptibility.
    Stacey SN, Sulem P, Jonasdottir A, Masson G, Gudmundsson J, Gudbjartsson DF, Magnusson OT, Gudjonsson SA, Sigurgeirsson B, Thorisdottir K, Ragnarsson R, Benediktsdottir KR, Nexø BA, Tjønneland A, Overvad K, Rudnai P, Gurzau E, Koppova K, Hemminki K, Corredera C, Fuentelsaz V, Grasa P, Navarrete S, Fuertes F, García-Prats MD, Sanambrosio E, Panadero A, De Juan A, Garcia A, Rivera F, Planelles D, Soriano V, Requena C, Aben KK, van Rossum MM, Cremers RG, van Oort IM, van Spronsen DJ, Schalken JA, Peters WH, Helfand BT, Donovan JL, Hamdy FC, Badescu D, Codreanu O, Jinga M, Csiki IE, Constantinescu V, Badea P, Mates IN, Dinu DE, Constantin A, Mates D, Kristjansdottir S, Agnarsson BA, Jonsson E, Barkardottir RB, Einarsson GV, Sigurdsson F, Moller PH, Stefansson T, Valdimarsson T, Johannsson OT, Sigurdsson H, Jonsson T, Jonasson JG, Tryggvadottir L, Rice T, Hansen HM, Xiao Y, Lachance DH, O Neill BP, Kosel ML, Decker PA, Thorleifsson G, Johannsdottir H, Helgadottir HT, Sigurdsson A, Steinthorsdottir V, Lindblom A; Swedish Low-risk Colorectal Cancer Study Group; Sandler RS, Keku TO, Banasik K, Jørgensen T, Witte DR, Hansen T, Pedersen O, Jinga V, Neal DE, Catalona WJ, Wrensch M, Wiencke J… See abstract for full author list ➔ Stacey SN, et al. Nat Genet. 2011 Sep 25;43(11):1098-103. doi: 10.1038/ng.926. Nat Genet. 2011. PMID: 21946351 Free PMC article.
  • TP53 gene polymorphism: importance to cancer, ethnicity and birth weight in a Brazilian cohort.
    Thurow HS, Haack R, Hartwig FP, Oliveira IO, Dellagostin OA, Gigante DP, Horta BL, Collares T, Seixas FK. Thurow HS, et al. J Biosci. 2011 Dec;36(5):823-31. doi: 10.1007/s12038-011-9147-5. J Biosci. 2011. PMID: 22116280
See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances