"We hope to uncover the different ways species have evolved to deal with cancer" - Dr Ylenia Chiari.

Researchers analyse tissue samples in lemon frost geckos.

A pet gecko with an unusually high risk of tumours could be a promising model for understanding how cancer develops and spreads, according to new research.

In a study led by the University of Nottingham, researchers used whole genome sequencing to analyse tissue samples in the lemon frost gecko — a colour morph of the leopard gecko that develops aggressive tumours in over 80 per cent of individuals.

The team identified a series of genomic changes that repeatedly occurred in the tumours. It is understood that many of the affected genes and biological processes play a key role in cancer in other organisms, including humans, suggesting that lemon frost genes could provide vital insights that reach far beyond reptiles.

With its striking white and yellow skin, the lemon frost gecko derives from a spontaneous genetic mutation within a breeding group of leopard geckos.

Unlike traditional models for cancer research, which typically require tumour induction, lemon frost geckos develop tumours naturally early in life. This gives scientists a rare opportunity to investigate how cancer arises, evolves, and spreads in an animal that develops the disease naturally.

Study lead Dr Ylenia Chiari from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham said: “By studying why some animals are so susceptible to cancer while others are remarkably resistant, we hope to uncover the different ways species have evolved to deal with cancer.

“Specifically, this gecko could become an incredible model in cancer research because tumours appear naturally at a relatively early age. Together, these natural strategies could inspire new ways of preventing, detecting, and treating cancer in humans.”

The study, Dissecting cancer in a non-mammalian model: genomic insights from lemon frost geckos, is published in Springer Nature Link.

Image (C) Fauzan Maududdin/Shutterstock.