Crash the legendary shark

Eating sharks does not only cure cancer, but the organisms themselves cannot protect themselves from the attack of malignant tumors.

For over 150 years, scientists have always known that sharks also suffer from cancer like humans. However, this does not shake the long-standing myth in the folk that ocean's "killer" is resistant to a dangerous disease. This misconception has contributed to promoting global shark slaughter for fins - thought to be able to cure diseases. While the seller always promotes the cancer treatment of fish fins, David Shiffman, a graduate student at the University of Miami (USA), notes that no report has concluded that this is an effective treatment against cancer, according to NBC News.

Recently, Australian researchers noted the case of white sharks spilling out of the oral cavity by a large tumor, while a copper shark grew large in the head. The tumor of a white shark is about 30 x 30cm in size, according to a report published in the Journal of Fish Diseases.'This is an unusual image, which has never been observed before,' said research group leader Rachel Robbins, who works at the Fox Shark Research Foundation, near Adelaide in southern Australia.

Images of sharks with melanoma - (Photo: Fox Shark Research Organization)

In total, scientists have recorded at least 23 species of sharks with tumors, including white sharks and copper in the study.'The main message from this study is that sharks can be completely cancerous, unlike the long-held belief that fish on this dangerous disease' , concluded Robbins expert. Meanwhile, expert Shiffman stressed: 'Sharks can exactly get cancer. And even if they don't get sick, shark-made foods don't remove malignant tumors . ' Not only that, if it is assumed that eating shark fins can cure the disease, the patient has missed the right time for treatment, leading to a high risk of death, according to a report on Cancer Research.

It is unclear what causes tumors in white sharks or copper sharks. However, reports of cancerous tumors in marine organisms, especially mammals, have increased continuously over the past 20 years, raising concerns that industrial waste or human activity has can explode cancer in the ocean. White whales also fall into the list of marine animals with cancer, and in areas near aluminum treatment plants, cancer is the second killer killer after humans.

In a report in March 2013, Dalhousie University team (Canada) estimated that up to 100 million sharks disappear from the oceans each year, while other data show that there are 63 million to 273 Million sharks are killed for meat, liver oil, fins, cartilage. This is due to the full capacity of the fisheries industry to hunt this fish in order to meet the increasing demand of consumers. Due to the slow growth and reproduction cycle of sharks, overexploitation of humans can push this creature to the brink of extinction. Specifically, there are 1 species of 6 shark / stingray species facing the risk of complete eradication, according to the report of the International Federation of Natural Preservation. And the sad fate of ocean assassins can lead to a serious imbalance in marine ecosystems.