A transmissible cancer has been discovered in brown bullhead catfish in Lake Memphremagog and other lakes in New England and Canada, researchers have reported.
This marks the first time a transmissible cancer has been identified in a freshwater fish species, according to the scientists involved in the study.
The cancer cells behave more like parasites than conventional tumors.
The researchers noted that the cancer cells behave more like parasites than conventional tumors, spreading between individuals rather than growing only within a single host.
Updates
Scientists have identified the transmissible cancer found in brown bullhead catfish as a melanoma. Genetic studies have confirmed that this rare condition represents the first documented case of a transmissible cancer in fish, discovered by a research team based in Vermont.
Researchers from Vermont have identified this rare, transmissible form of cancer in brown bullhead catfish as a melanoma. Following over a decade of observation, genetic studies have confirmed these tumors are the first documented case of transmissible cancer in fish, detected in Lake Memphremagog on the border of Vermont and Quebec.
Genetic studies have identified this transmissible cancer as a melanoma, marking the first known instance of its kind in fish. Researchers in Vermont, who have been monitoring this rare condition for over a decade, confirmed that the affected area, Lake Memphremagog, straddles the border between Vermont and Quebec.
Genetic studies have identified the transmissible cancer in brown bullhead catfish as a rare form of melanoma, marking it as the first such condition ever discovered in fish. These black skin lesions have been under observation for over a decade by a team of Vermont researchers. While similar tumors have been reported in a few other animal species, this discovery may provide critical new insights into the mechanisms of tumor metastasis.
