Transmissible cancer in clams is different from the cancers in humans, but differences can be valuable. These infectious cancers have affected broad, diverse wild populations of clams, and evidence suggests that the clam populations have evolved resistance to the cancers. These outbreaks of infectious cancer are therefore unique natural experiments that we can use to understand new aspects of cancer-host interactions. The Metzger Lab is focused on understanding how clams have evolved the ability to block cancer in the hopes that it can help develop new methods of cancer treatment in humans.
