Can skin cancer really be passed down to the next generation?

The question that worries many skin cancer patients is whether their disease will be passed on to their children. Usually, the children with the highest incidence of this disease have a family history of melanoma. Melanoma is a rare but often fatal skin cancer. If a relative of a parent is diagnosed with melanoma before the age of 50, the child's chance of getting the disease will be higher. This situation must not be underestimated, as it is very harmful to the child.

Skin cancer can occur at any age, and sunlight is one of the main "killers". If the ultraviolet rays in the sun are exposed to the skin for a long time, it will cause skin cells to mutate and cause skin cancer. Studies have found that "choosing" your parents and siblings also affects a person's chance of developing skin cancer.

Researchers studying twins with melanoma, a deadly skin cancer, found that if one identical twin develops melanoma, the other has a much higher risk of developing the disease than a fraternal twin.

Many previous studies have pointed out the possibility of skin cancer and genetics, but because genetic and environmental influences are difficult to separate and study separately, they have remained at the "hypothesis" stage. Researchers say that the increase in melanoma rates can be partly attributed to genes, especially the interaction between genes.