Study finds three new melanoma-related gene faults

A new study has uncovered three new genetic faults linked to melanoma that could aid efforts to identify patients at risk from the deadly skin cancer.

The new genes discovered by the Cancer Research UK study are the first DNA faults to be associated with the disease that are not related to hair, skin or eye colour.

One of these flaws – located in the MX2 gene – is linked to narcolepsy and the second ATM gene defect is associated with DNA repair, while the third is found in the CASP8 gene and plays a role in cell growth.

The average risk of contracting melanoma is around one in 60, but this rises to around one in 46 if a person is affected by all three gene faults.

Dr Lesley Walker, Cancer Research UK's director of cancer information, said: "We hope that research like this will reveal further genetic secrets to help us diagnose and treat the disease."

This comes after a study from the organisation in July shows that British males are not taking enough care to protect their skin from the sun, which is increasing their susceptibility to melanoma and other skin cancers.