Researchers at Columbia University reported this week that they’ve found transmissible leukemia in mussels, cockles, and golden carpet shell clams, doubling the number of known contagious cancers. Soft-shelled clams also get the disease. The other two examples of contagious cancer are a facial tumor in Tasmanian devils, and a venereal cancer in dogs.
The same team first reported transmissible leukemia in soft-shelled clamslast year. It was an announcement forty years in the making, but clam biologist Carol Reinisch - who had been on the case that whole time - told Living Lab last August that she expected new discoveries in rapid fashion.
“We’re going to be looking at other bi-valves very shortly," Reinisch said. "We’re going to look at mussels because they get the leukemia. We know exactly where to get them. We’re getting samples from Spain, we’re getting samples from Chile. There’s going to be a lot more work done on this.”
Perhaps the most astounding part of the newly documented cases is the fact that the leukemia in golden carpet shell clams came from another species. That's right - cancer that is not only contagious, but capable of jumping species.
Never fear, though. Lead researcher Stephen Goff of Columbia University told The Atlantic there's no cause for alarm:
Fortunately—for us, if not the clams and mussels—there’s no evidence that these cells could affect humans, or that we are plagued by any contagious cancer at all. “I would only worry deeply if I was a mollusk,” Goff says. “Could it happen in rare circumstances? We’d be eager to look for that. It would presumably have to happen between genetically closely matched peers, or people who are profoundly immune-compromised.
Listen to our full conversation with Carol Reinisch here.