Unit 4 Case Study 2

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Unit 4 Case study 2 It is known that overexposure to large amounts of UV light/ radiation can be harmful to the body and can cause skin cancer to occur. However, another possible cause has been brought to light. What if the cause of this cancer were more than skin deep? What if it were already present from the time of birth? Cancer is a multifactorial disease resulting from complex interactions between environmental and genetic factors. (2014) Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer, affecting millions worldwide. The two major groups of skin cancer are non-melanoma and melanoma. (2014) The most common type of non-melanoma skin cancer is basal cell carcinoma (BCC) followed by squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). (2014) Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes are the melanin-producers in the skin. Melanoma can occur in any part of the body and is thought to be the most fatal form of skin cancer. (2014) In recent years, evidence has revealed that genetic variation can modulate several important biological processes, thereby altering cancer susceptibility. (2014) Interferon Regulatory Factors (IRF) are characterized by a DNA-binding domain. (2014) IRFs regulate cellular responses, cell growth, susceptibility, and play a big role in immune response, among other things. As a member of the IRF family of transcription factors, IRF4 (also known as multiple myeloma 1 and lymphocyte-specific interferon regulatory factor (LSIRF)) is expressed in most cell types of the immune system. (2014) Recently, IRF4 was reported to be essential to the development and function of T helper cells, regulatory T (Treg) cells, B cells and dendritic cells (2014). Research has demonstrated that IRF4 plays a pivotal role in the development and progression of cancer, particularly in skin cancer and hematopoietic

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