said Clarke, a postdoctoral researcher working with the British-based University of Cambridge’s Transmissible Cancer Group. Brown bullhead catfish found while researching transmissible cancer in this undated photo, in New Brunswick. And now the scientists out of Vermont and researchers in England are trying to figure out where the cancer originated, Dragon said. Dragon, in Vermont, says studying the diseased catfish could give researchers a chance to study how melanoma starts and grows. As for humans who may be worried about catching cancer from catfish, Dragon says it’s not a concern.