A team of IPATIMUP researchers had previously demonstrated that alterations in the telomerase gene are common to different types of cancer, including tumors of the skin, brain, bladder, and thyroid and are associated with increased levels of this enzyme in tumors. The same team now published a study in Journal of Investigative Dermatology, where they analyzed two types of skin cancer, melanoma and basal cell carcinoma, and demonstrates that telomerase gene mutations are associated with sun exposure and are also associated with a poorer prognosis in melanoma.
