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Though transmissible cancers are rare in humans, that’s not the case for every species. A few animal cancers are easily transmissible, and one such example even posed an existential threat to its host species. Transmissible animal cancers include an aggressive form of facial tumor that’s spreading among Tasmanian devils, which live on the Australian island they’re named after. The cancer, called Devil Facial Tumor Disease, spreads through skin contact, and is frequently passed between males during violent skirmishes over mates. The cancerous lesions grow quickly and grotesquely, and typically kill the animals when they grow large enough to restrict breathing or eating. The cancer cells are thought to spread because Tasmanian devils’ lack genetic diversity, making it harder for their immune systems to tell cells from different animals apart. It results in cancer cells being able to survive and multiply undetected. As of 2023, DFTD had reduced Tasmanian Devil populations by 80 percent, prompting worries of extinction.
