Cancer a major threat to wildlife too

London, June 25 (ANI): A recent study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has revealed that cancer not only touches the lives of humans, it is also a major threat to wild animal populations.

"Cancer is one of the leading health concerns for humans, accounting for more than 10 percent of human deaths. But we now understand that cancer can kill wild animals at similar rates," said Dr. Denise McAloose, lead author and Chief Pathologist for WCS's Global Health program.

McAloose and her colleagues compiled information on cancer in wildlife and concluded that cancer poses a conservation threat to certain species. The team called for greater protection of animals and people through increased health monitoring.

Cancer threatens the survival of entire species, McAloose said. For instance, the Tasmanian devil, the world's largest carnivorous marsupial, faces extinction from a cancer known as devil facial tumor disease. This contagious cancer spreads among devils usually through fighting and biting. To save the species, conservationists are relocating cancer-free Tasmanian devils to geographically isolated areas or zoos.

The study suggests links between wildlife cancers and human pollutants, as well. For example, beluga whales in the St. Lawrence River system have an extraordinarily high rate of intestinal cancer - it is their second leading cause of death. One kind of pollutant in the waters, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, is known to cause cancer in humans. The compounds are suspected carcinogens for beluga whales as well. Fish in other polluted waterways, including brown bullhead catfish and English sole, also exhibit high levels of cancer.

Viruses are another culprit. In some animals, viruses can induce cancers that interfere with reproduction. Genital tumours in California sea lions occur at much higher rates than previously documented, the paper shows. Dolphins, such as the dusky dolphin and Burmeister's porpoise, found off South American coasts, are also showing higher rates of genital tumours.

Other virus-induced cancers can affect an animal's eyesight or its ability to feed. Green sea turtles suffer from fibropapillomatosis, a disease that causes tumours to grow on the skin and internal organs. A virus is suspected to cause these tumours.

Monitoring the health of wildlife can illuminate the causes of cancer in animal populations and better safeguard them and us against diseases, McAloose said.

The research has been published in the July edition of the journal Nature Reviews Cancer. (ANI)