Thank you so much

Matthias has provided great context to this early discussion. Piraveen has found quick referrals in google, and I can add another from a quick search related to marine invertebrates http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022098111002929

To answer your question, yes.

Yes, Drosophila and C elegans both develop tumors when targeted by oncogenic lesions. Discovery of first Drosophila tumor suppressor gene 'lethal giant larvae (lgl)' followed identification of dozens of tumor suppressor genes in Drosophila. For details read an excellent review by Hariharan and Bilder "Regulation of imaginal disc growth by tumor-suppressor genes in Drosophila" in Annual Reviews of Genetics (Pubmed ID 16872256). Loss of lgl leads to the formation of neoplastic tumors of epithelial and neuronal origin. Interestingly, with oncogenic cooperation like that of activated Ras, loss of these tumor suppressors result in metastasis (For review, please refer to: "Modeling tumor invasion and metastasis in Drosophila" published in DMM, pubmed ID: PMC3209645).

A quick google search yielded:

“A gene called Lethal giant larvae (Lgl) was discovered through genetic screens on flies in the seventies. No one had yet found a gene that quashed the growth of tumours in any animal. Flies born with mutations in Lgl get bigger and bigger and then die because of unregulated cell growth. Human versions of this and other tumour-suppressor genes play a role in cancer.”

and

“Flies only live for a few weeks so they don’t have to maintain tissues like we do over long periods. It’s the rapidly dividing tissues that are prone to cancers; the more cells we make, the greater the likelihood of a mutation during our lifetime, the greater the likelihood of mutations that lead to cancer. So, although flies can get cancer, they rarely do in nature.”

Taken from: http://www.cancerpathways.eu/Articles/FliesFate/

I imagine cancer in other invertebrates is also rare for similar reasons.

That said, there are papers out there which describe invertebrate tumours, such as:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19218489

A final point: many groups are utilising D. melanogaster as a model organism for insights into cancer genetics and epigenetics.

Hope that helps!

I don't know much about this but i can quote an interesting words from "Jules Hoffmann", Noble Laureate and Discoverer of Toll gene in D. melanogaster. He told in a lecture that immunity and Immune System in organisms are common and malignant overgrowth in fruit fly was observed many years back in fruit fly and many researchers thought it might be due to artificial habitats in lab and unusual exposure to strange and unfamiliar conditions might be the cause and that might be the starting point of cancer like disease. so, it is possible that malignant overgrowth of cells is possible in D.melanogaster but ia m not sure to call it as Cancer.

Hello.

As some previously pointed, it is not probable the cancer disease in short-living organisms, like most of the invertebrates. But there are many invertebrates with very long lives (for example: some giant clams lives along decades or more than a century). I think if cancer is posible among invertebrates growing in natural environments , long-living ones will be the "lucky ones".

I hope this could help in this interesting discussion.

in clams... http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF01344301

Yes, cancer is best described as malignant transformation of normal tissues into neoplastic tissue.  The basic mechanisms of neoplastic malignant transformation are basic developmental mechanisms that are activated aberrantly at times and in situations where they lead to dysfunction.  For many years, my laboratory has been studying aberrancies in cestodes, specifically in the juvenile metacestode stages of certain taxa.  The cancer is not deadly to the cestode itself, but results in explosive and interminable asexual proliferation, which does end up killing the host animal.  In fact, our studies suggest that a metacestode with such a condition may live indefinitely (theoretically forever) if transferred sequentially to experimental hosts in the lab.  I have linked here to several of our papers and presentations available on ResearchGate, and welcome further feedback or discussion.

Article Sparganosis in wild-caught baboons (Papio cynocephalus Anubis)

Article Localization and associated histopathology of asexually prol...

Article Interactions between anomalous excretory and tegumental epit...

Article Pleural effusion secondary to aberrant metacestode infection...

Article An aberrant acephalic metacestode and other parasites of Mas...

Chapter Disseminated cestodiasis of mammals involving anomalous epit...

Data Conn & Conn 2007 Disseminated Cestodiasis Aberrant Metacestodes WAAVP

Article Malignant Transformation of Hymenolepis nana in a Human Host...

Conference Paper NEOPLASTIC MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATIONS IN CESTODES ARE HIGHLY ...

Here's a more updated full presentation I made recently to the 12th European Multicolloquium of Parasitology in Turku Finland.  Again, I welcome feedback and discussion.  Certainly there is a need for further research in this area.

Presentation PowerPoint Presentation: Neoplastic Malignant Transformation...