Anticancer gene tied to tans

DALLAS -- A gene known to prevent cancer also protects against sun damage by prompting the skin to tan when exposed to the sun's ultraviolet light, according to a study.

P53, a gene best known for keeping tumors at bay, also activates the tanning mechanism that darkens skin and protects it from sunburn and from the skin cancer melanoma.

The study, in today's issue of the journal Cell, was conducted by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Researchers have known that the ability or inability to tan is a major predictor of cancer. Identifying p53's role in the chain reaction that results in tanning might help explain why some people such as redheads and those with very fair skin don't tan.

"If we can identify where the block to tanning occurs, we can develop drugs to address that," said David Fisher, the study's lead author and director of the melanoma program at Dana-Farber .