Canine transmissable tumor -- immortal zombie cancer is the oldest mamallian cell-line

The Straight Dope's blurb on canine transmissible venereal tumor reveals that the oldest mamallian cell-line in the world is an immortal, sexually transmissible zombie tumour.

The really sexy dog STD, though, is something called canine transmissible venereal tumor, a very rare example of what's known as a parasitic cancer. Unlike most other contagious cancers such as cervical cancer in humans, CTVT isn't spread by a virus but (as recently proved) by cancerous cells themselves. Genetic analysis suggests the tumor originated in an individual wolf or domesticated dog, probably in east Asia, between 200 and 2,500 years ago. This long-dead canid's much-mutated cells are still alive and being passed along during coitus (or sometimes through casual contact) centuries later, making it the longest-lived mammalian cell line known. The disease is now found throughout the world, especially where there are large populations of strays. It can be treated with surgery, radiation, and chemo, but most otherwise healthy dogs recover spontaneously after several months.

Link (via JWZ)

[#1 posted by RickB , May 19, 2008 2:17 PM]

So the Hela line of human zombie tumour cells is a spring chicken by comparison!

[#2 posted by dafoink , May 19, 2008 2:41 PM]

is that 200 - 2,500 or 2,000 - 2,500

[#3 posted by batu b , May 19, 2008 2:41 PM]

http://harpers.org/archive/2008/04/0081988
is a great article about transmissible cancer studies. (apologies if it requires subscription - I'm not sure if the archives are public. But harper's is an AWESOME magazine, so you should subscribe anyway - it's not too expensive)

[#4 posted by Greg , May 19, 2008 2:42 PM]

Harper's ran a great story about transmissible cancers in April: http://www.harpers.org/archive/2008/04/0081988

[#5 posted by Stefan Jones , May 19, 2008 3:02 PM]

I can picture some lame abstinence-only sex-ed class using this to scare kids straight . . . failing to mention the "canine" aspect.

[#6 posted by adk , May 19, 2008 3:18 PM]

The Tasmanian devil face cancer that has been studied recently also operates via this mechanism. It makes one wonder if there are human cancers that operate in a similar fashion. Or further how many cancers are themselves transmissible.

[#7 posted by trimeta , May 20, 2008 12:25 AM]

I'm not seeing how these are zombie cells, per se; they're not dead, therefore they're not undead, therefore they're not zombies.

[#8 posted by Takuan , May 20, 2008 12:30 AM]

do they have an affinity for brains?

[#9 posted by Enochrewt , May 20, 2008 8:52 AM]

Yeah, this would be less confusing if the zombie part was left out (or explained better), but then I guess it wouldn't have made it on BB then, eh?