How to minimize formation and growth of tumours: Potential benefits of decapod crustaceans for cancer research

Tumours have only rarely been observed in the decapod crustaceans, a large animal group of more than 10,000 species that includes the commercially important and well investigated shrimp, lobsters, crayfish and crabs. Analysis of the literature and information from cancer and diseases data bases revealed a total of 15 incidences, some of them being questionable. Even in the long-lived species, which can reach life spans of almost 100 years, neoplasias are virtually unknown. The data published so far suggest that the strikingly different frequencies of carcinogenesis between decapods and other well investigated animal groups like mammals, fish, insects and molluscs is based on differences of the metabolic pathways for carcinogens, the immune systems, and the regulation of stein cells. Therefore, representatives of the Decapoda may serve as useful models to study how organisms can successfully prevent or control spontaneously and en viron mentally induced cell proliferation. A particularly promising candidate for in-depth investigation of these topics is the marbled crayfish, a rather new clonal lineage that is presently being introduced as a laboratory model in development and epigenetics. (C) 2008 Wiley-Liss. Inc.