The growth factor bFGF occurs naturally in human skin but its regulation can be affected by a wound or inflammation, she adds. Melanocytes are cells that make the brown pigment called melanin. The study was published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Pathology . It's important to be able to work with human skin in this kind of research, Berking says. Especially the pigment cells.
Additional factors have to come in it.
Dr. Martin A. Weinstock, chairman of the American Cancer Society's skin cancer advisory group, says the Wistar research doesn't contribute greatly to public health measures to protect people from melanoma and other skin cancers. Weinstock says the melanoma-UV link has been long established by extensive epidemiological studies. What To Do There are an estimated 47,000 new cases of melanoma each year in the United States and about 7,700 deaths from the disease. Melanoma accounts for 4 percent of skin cancer cases but is responsible for 79 percent of skin cancer deaths. For more HealthScoutNews stories on the dangers of ultraviolet radiation in sun light, click here .