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.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Study: Lesions on Lake Memphramagog Fish Are a Transmissible Form of Cancer
Anglers have long been puzzled about what’s causing the splotchy black tumors commonly found on brown bullhead catfish, or mud pout, living in Lake Memphramagog. Now, University of Vermont researchers say they have the answer: a transmissible cancer that was not previously known to science. The findings, published in the prominent journal “Nature,” indicate that the raised black skin lesions on the fish are actually melanoma. Researchers emphasi…
A rare melanoma that spreads like a parasite - The phenomenon was detected in catfish in lakes in the US and Canada, without posing a danger to humans. The post Scientists discovered the first contagious cancer in fish appeared first on in.gr.
'Rare' contagious cancer found in fish from Quebec and U.S. lakes
It's rare that cancerous tumours can spread from one individual to another. But a genetic study suggests that's what's happening with melanoma skin cancer tumours among catfish in Quebec and the northeastern U.S.
A strange transmissible cancer is spreading through the catfish in this lake
For more than a decade, there's been something fishy going on in a lake that straddles Vermont and the province of Quebec. It involves cancer, a kind of catfish, and — possibly — clues about how tumors metastasize.
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