FHIT Gene Involved in Cancer and Baldness
Genes work in mysterious ways. The FHIT gene appears to work as a tumor suppressor gene and affects the growth of hair as well. FHIT-deficient mice not only develop a number of different tumors (lung, colorectal, breast and cervical), they also developed alopecia areata – hair loss that is most commonly known as male pattern baldness “bald patches that develop on the scalp, beard, and, possibly, eyebrows. Eyelashes may fall out as well. This is thought to be an immune disorder.”
The closing paragraph of the Forbes article:
And for those who are seeking a cure for baldness, the report “may mean that one cause of hair loss is deficiency of FHIT,” [Dr. Yuri] Pekarsky said, so gene therapy becomes a future possibility.
So, Cory aka Bald Man (from whom this tip came), is gene therapy the hope of all bald men everywhere?
More at Cancer Commentary.
Update: I hope no one thinks I’m advocating that all forms of baldness need to be cured. I was being sarcastic from the final quote on. (If you’ve been with me a while, you know I can be very cranky. 
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Right there, in your question, is the heart of the issue. The word “hope” implies baldness is a problem, a defect, something for which a remedy ought to be sought. This isn’t necessarily the case, though culture would like us to think so. Some instances of hair loss could, in my opinion, be called a problem, as they are expressive of a significant auto-immune dysfunction. Think alopecia totalis, the complete loss of all body hair. Most occurances of hair loss, such as those associated with aging, do not qualify. It’s no more a “problem” than being left-handed or a red head.
So, to answer the question with as little cynicism as possible: No, gene therapy will more likely become yet another method of fleecing insecure men, and that will overshadow the real potential held in the finding. Imagine: cancer treatments that do NOT have the side effect of hair loss? That seems a real and meritorious possibility.
Thank you, Cory! Very well said. I was astounded at the conclusion of the Forbes article. So shallow.
Such is the world we live in…
You need to check out the difference between alopecia areata and male pattern baldness!! A comment on whether people with alopecia areata caused by FHIT ‘deficiency’ are more likely to develop cancer would be welcome.
PNAS
This seems to be the article which started the story
Pat
Patricia: Thanks for the comment and link. I’ve corrected what I said about alopecia areata and male pattern baldness. I must have misread the article.
I did read the PNAS abstract (don’t have access to the full article) and it does apear that the FHIT gene does play a role in both alopecia areata and some forms of cancer but a direct link between alopecia areata and cancer wasn’t stated.