Popularity bias in species selection threatens validity of comparative oncology research
By
Dujon, Antoine M., Courtalon, Jonas, Asselin, Klara, Thomas, Frédéric
Summary
This article examines how scientific and public popularity of certain species introduces significant biases in comparative oncology research (the study of cancer risk variation across species). The authors demonstrate that popular, well-studied species (like those in zoos or with high public appeal) have disproportionately more cancer data available, skewing analyses of relationships between tumor prevalence and factors like body mass, longevity, and life-history traits. This popularity bias threatens the robustness of hypotheses about cancer defenses, conservation strategies, and the evolution of multicellularity. The research highlights a critical methodological flaw in comparative oncology that could lead to incorrect conclusions about cancer risk patterns across the animal kingdom.
Source
bskyPopularity bias in species selection threatens validity of comparative oncology researchdoi.orgKey quotes
· 3 pulledComparative oncology investigates variation in cancer risk across species by analysing relationships between observed tumour prevalence and factors such as body mass, longevity, life-history traits and mutation rates.
These patterns underpin hypotheses on cancer defences, conservation strategies and the evolution of multicellularity, so their robustness is critical.
Here, we show that species' scientific and public popularity substantially biases...
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