ECZEMA sufferers may have less chance of developing skin cancer, new research suggests.
Experts at King's College London found the immune response triggered by the skin condition could stop tumours forming by shedding potentially cancerous cells.
Genetically engineered mice lacking three skin proteins - known as "knock-out" mice - were used to replicate some of the skin defects found in eczema sufferers.
Researchers compared the effects of two cancer-causing chemicals with normal mice and found the number of benign tumours per mouse was six times lower in knock-out mice.
Both types of mice were equally susceptible to getting cancer-causing mutations, King's College said, but an exaggerated inflammatory reaction in knock-out mice led to enhanced shedding of potentially cancerous cells.
Previous studies have suggested eczema is linked with a reduced risk of skin cancer but it has been difficult to prove because symptoms vary and drugs used to treat the condition might also influence cancer.
The study, published in eLife, is the first to show that allergy caused by eczema could protect against skin cancer, King's College said.
Professor Fiona Watt, director of its centre for stem cells and regenerative medicine, said the results established "a clear link between cancer susceptibility and an allergic skin condition in our experimental model. They also support the view that modifying the body's immune system is an important strategy in treating cancer."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article