People with a gene that predisposes them to obesity may also face an increased risk of melanoma skin cancer, a study has found.
Scientists at the University of Leeds discovered that people with particular versions of the FTO gene tended to have a heightened risk of the disease, which is the deadliest form of skin cancer.
The research team analysed tumour samples from more than 13,000 people with melanoma, as well as tissue from approximately 60,000 cancer-free individuals.
Variations in a particular stretch of DNA within the FTO gene were associated with a noticeable increase in melanoma risk.
The study, which is published in the journal Nature Genetics, is the first to link the FTO gene with a condition other than weight gain.
Dr Mark Iles, a Cancer Research UK-funded scientist at the University of Leeds, suggested that the gene may have a role in other diseases as well.
'When scientists have tried to understand how the FTO gene behaves, so far they've only examined its role in metabolism and appetite,' he revealed.
'But it's now clear we don't know enough about what this intriguing gene does.'
Dr Julie Sharp, senior science information manager at Cancer Research UK described the findings as 'fascinating'.