Transmissible skin cancer discovered in freshwater fish in Canada and U.S.
Researchers found genetic evidence that melanoma tumors may spread between brown bullhead catfish, one of only four known transmissible cancers.
- A study published Wednesday in the journal Nature documents the first known transmissible cancer in fish, a melanoma affecting brown bullhead catfish in Lake Memphremagog straddling Vermont and Quebec.
- Starting in 2013, Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department researchers discovered catfish with strange black lesions that appeared "like black tar on the skin," arriving suddenly with over a quarter affected; investigation ruled out pollution.
- Genetic analysis revealed tumor cells shared hundreds of thousands of gene variants forming a single lineage, much more similar to each other than to their host fish, "which is not what we expected," said Julie Dragon, data scientist at the University of Vermont.
- The melanoma now affects roughly 30% of catfish in Lake Memphremagog on both sides of the border and has spread to other New England lakes, suggesting parasite-like transmission during spawning when fish cluster together.
- Researchers plan to demonstrate actual transmission later this year through laboratory experiments, while Dragon argues transmissible cancers are likely more widespread; studying this cancer could reveal how tumors metastasize in human bodies.
46 Articles
46 Articles
Scientists Discover the First Contagious Cancer in a Freshwater Animal
Vermont scientists were surprised to discover a melanoma that spreads from one catfish to another like a parasite, marking the first known transmissible cancer in a freshwater animal. Raised black lesions have appeared on brown bullhead catfish across Lake Memphremagog and other waters in New England and Canada. What initially looked like pollution or infection [...]
TVA Nouvelles
A major discovery in Memphremagog Lake confirmed the presence of a type of transmissible cancer in brown barbots.
A tumor that is not born from the inside of an organism due to an isolated genetic mutation, but that comes from the outside, infects the host and is transmitted from one individual to another like an infectious disease or a parasite. It is the revolutionary discovery carried out by researchers of the University of Vermont, in the United States, that on a hypothesis [...] The article "C" is a new tumor that is transmitted as a parasite: discover…
In brown dwarf catfish in Lake Memphremagog, a transferable melanoma spreads from fish to fish. According to the researchers, there is no danger for humans.
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