Transmissible dog cancer genome sheds light on cancer evolution

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The genome of the world's oldest continuously surviving cancer - an 11,000-year-old genital cancer in dogs that can be transmitted during mating - is helping scientists understand underlying factors that drive cancer evolution in general.

The latest study, in which researchers describe the genome and evolution of the cancer, has been published in the journal Science.

They note that cancer normally lives and dies with a single person. There is no need to panic, however, as there is currently no known transmissible cancer in humans.

But in dogs, one ancient cancer can be caught from another dog, causing genital tumors.

The genome of this cancer carries around 2 million mutations, the researcher say. This is many more than those found in human cancers, which usually have between 1,000 and 5,000 mutations.

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Transmissible dog cancer genome sheds light on cancer evolution