Is Cancer Contagious? Well... it depends...

The literal answer to this question is YES... Cancer CAN be literally contagious, but only if you are a tasmanian devil, hamster, or a dog. I am excluding transmission of a vector that may lead to cancer like HPV. Rather cancer itself being contagious.

Fortunately, cancer has NOT been found to be contagious in humans... yet...

At this time, the only cancers I am aware of that is contagious are found in the animal world. And even in that world, there are only 3.

1) Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) which causes a contagious cancer of the face in Tasmanian Devils ultimately resulting in death. The cancer originates in the Schwann cells and is suspected to spread when bits of cancer comes into contact with an open wound via biting (which Tasmanian Devils do a lot of to each other).

2) Canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT) is passed between dogs via sexual activity and has been known to science for about 100 years.

3) Contagious reticulum cell sarcoma of the Syrian hamster which can be transmitted from one Syrian hamster to another by means of the bite of the mosquito Aedes aegypti.

SO... the answer to whether cancer is contagious is YES!!! But not (so far) in humans.

Read more about how cancer may become contagious in this Harper's Magazine article published in 2008.