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Four Decades to Nail Down Contagious Clam Cancer

Scott Bennett
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MBL
The soft-shell “steamer” clam, Mya arenaria.";s:

Contagious cancer is rare, thankfully. Until recently, there were only three documented examples, none of them in humans (again, thankfully) - a facial tumor in Tasmanian devils, a sexually transmitted cancer in dogs, and a hamster cancer. Earlier this year, researchers added one more to the list: a contagious leukemia that affects soft-shelled clams (a.k.a. steamers).

It was an announcement born of four decades of research. The disease, which fills the blood with "cannonballs" of cancer cells, was first described in the late 1960's by two government biologists, Paul Yevich and C. Austin Farley. Carol Reinisch quickly jumped on board and, over the past forty years, alongside various researchers, and in between other projects, she has sought a cause for the condition.

Carol Reinisch studying Arctic clams.
Credit Daniel MacIsaac / CBC
/
CBC
Carol Reinisch studying Arctic clams.

Viruses and chemical contaminants were both considered potential culprits, but ruled out - at least mostly. While the cancer, itself, has now been shown to be contagious (meaning the cancer cells, themselves, move from animal to animal), Reinisch says there's evidence that it spreads more quickly in polluted areas, suggesting that pollution plays a role in exacerbating the disease or making the clams more susceptible.

Reinisch also says there's reason to suspect that it's not only soft-shelled clams that are affected. The next phase of research will be looking for and documenting cases of contagious cancer in soft-shelled clams and other bivalves from around the globe, including the Arctic.

Reinisch says she has learned more than biology from her decades of chasing the mysterious clam leukemia. First and foremost, think outside the box, early and often. And don't let anyone talk you out of what you really want to do. It's advice that has carried Reinisch through ups and downs in her own career, and which she now shares with aspiring, young scientists. 

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