It has been known before that those who had been born with red hair also have a greater risk of the skin cancer known as melanoma. Now, scientists have found a better explanation to this phenomenon.

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center discovered that the same genetic mutation causing the person to have red hair also plays a certain role in cancer development. The genetic mutation has been identified as a mutation on the gene receptor known as melanocortin-1 (MC1R).

When a red-haired person gets exposed to UV radiation, the gene mutation appears to promote a signaling pathway which is known to contribute to cancer development. Dubbed as PI3K/Akt, the signaling pathway has been connected with other forms of cancer attacking the breast, ovary, and lungs.

The study published in the Molecular Cell journal is based on serious work on mice and cell cultures. By nature, the MC1R gene receptor connects with PTEN, a tumor-suppressing gene, thereby stopping an increased signaling to the cancer-causing PI3K/Akt pathway. However, for those who have red hair combined with the MC1R gene mutation, the gene receptor of the MC1R seems not to possess a protective mechanism to thwart cancer.

Moreover, researchers also found out that an increased activity coming from the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway tend to increase proliferation of the cells and had shown some interaction with a gene mutation which is believed to be the key in most melanoma cases.

Investigator and Professor Wenyi Wei, Ph.D, from the Department of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess and the Harvard Medical School told the Huffington Post that their study was able to provide the molecular mechanism that explains why individuals born with red hair while harboring MC1R mutations are much more prone to UV-triggered skin damage than those who have darker skin tones. This result to a 10 to 100 fold higher chances of melanoma.