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Type of Cancer In Dogs Found Contagious

A rare type of cancer called CTVT (canine transmissible venereal tumor) may be passed from dog to dog, study says.

Scientists and vets from University College London discovered that the rare type of cancer called CTVT may be passed on from a dog to another by bites, sniffs or licks around the area were the cancer is located.

"It appears that man's best friend can be its own worst enemy. Our study shows that CTVT has become a parasite that has long outlived its original host. Our discovery is of much broader significance than simply a disease in dogs," Professor Robin Weiss, UCL Division of Infection and Immunity, team leader says.

The cancer which is mainly transmitted through sexual contacts may not be passed on to humans and is rarely fatal even for dogs.

There is a type of cancer, called CTVT (canine transmissible venereal tumor) which is transmitted mainly through sexual contacts, but may also be passed on as a dog bites, sniffs or licks the tumor-affected areas, say scientists and vets from University College London (UCL). The cancer is rarely fatal and goes away after three to nine months - however, it is present in the dog long enough for it to pass it on to other dogs.

The researchers say humans do not have to worry as this type of cancer cannot be passed on from dog to people, it only occurs in dogs. It is a type of cancer that can spread from dog-to-dog as if it were an infection.

CTVT is a tumor of the dog and other canids that mainly affects the external genitalia. In male dogs, the tumor affects the penis or prepuce. In females, it affects the vagina or labia. Rarely, the mouth or nose are affected. The tumor often has a cauliflowerlike appearance.

The disease was first described by Russian veterinarian Novinsky in 1876, when he demonstrated that the tumor could be transplanted from one dog to another by infecting them with tumor cells.