In their studies, scientists found mutations in the patched gene in humans with BCNS and in tumors of patients with basal-cell carcinomas. This data suggested that PTC in its normal form suppresses uncontrolled cell division. When the gene becomes mutated, either during inheritance or by ultraviolet radiation from sunlight, growth and proliferation of the cell proceeds unchecked when it should be suppressed. Indeed, in the noncancerous, normal cells of patients with basal-cell carcinoma, the patched gene had not been mutated or altered. Researchers hope to use this information in developing tests that would screen patients for this gene and in creating drugs to counteract the effects of altered or mutated forms of the patched gene.
Source: "Scientists Report Finding the Gene That Causes Skin Cancer" by Warren E. Leary, New York Times, June 14, 1996