Another Genetic Quirk of the Solomon Islands: Blond Hair

[csziggy]

13. Another thought - the particular blond gene may not have the same cancer risks

As blondes from Northern climates.

I breed horses for color - dun, buckskin, grulla. The genes for producing the horses with gold to cream bodies with dark or red points (legs, mane & tail) are varied. Some, such as true duns, produce horses with black skin, brown eyes, and gold to cream hair color and do not have a cancer risk. Others, such as the 'champagne' genes, produce horses with similar hair colors, but the eyes are amber or blue and the skin is mottled pink and black. I am not aware of an increased incidence of cancer in either group above the average in horses.

In horses, the highest incident of cancer is in gray horses. They can be born any color but will turn gray gradually over a number of years and eventually turn white or close to white - some grays are 'flea bitten' with mostly white coats and little dots of colored hair scattered through their white hairs. Their skin color is more dependent on their original coat color, so can be black, pink, spotted, or mottled. I am not sure if gray horses with pink or mottled skins have a higher incidence of cancer than those with black skin.

Just having a lighter coat color or skin color may not be the factor that increases skin cancer - it may just be the genetics of the Northern European blondes (and redheads and fair skinned people) that give them an increased rate of cancer when exposed to the sun.