Caninecancer.org.au

I came across this article last week. Is this possible? Different sources around the world were posting similar articles at the same time.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/01 ... m=facebook

There are only 2 known examples of truly contagious cancer in the mammalian world.
1. dogs can get transmissible venereal tumours
2. Tasmanian devils get a facial sarcoma
3. syrian hamsters get a contagious reticulum cell sarcoma
There are very rare individual occurrences in other species including man.
So as a generalisation, cancer is not contagious, though the above are exceptions.

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Dr Ken Wyatt BSc BVMS FANZCVS
Specialist Veterinary Oncologist
Perth Veterinary Oncology

So is this article inaccurate? The geneticist is wrong? It can't be caught by dogs just licking or touching each other? I checked your website library and it does say it is an infectious cancer. So if a dog with this comes into direct contact with another dog they could catch it, but not if they just lick or casual contact with each other.

The cancer is passed on by direct contact from cancer surface to a dog's mucosal membrane (gums, penis, vagina for example). so a dog that licks the face of a dog who has the cancer on his penis (but not face) will not get the cancer. If the cancer itself is licked, then that dog can develop it on the lips and gum.

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Dr Ken Wyatt BSc BVMS FANZCVS
Specialist Veterinary Oncologist
Perth Veterinary Oncology