The biting is part of the courtship ritual and this spreads the cancer, which means reproduction equals

death for both parents, a bad equation in any species.

Neoplams originate withing the dermis or submucosal connective tissue in the oral cavity.

Originally thought to be a variant lymphosarcoma, but immunohistochemical evidence refutes this. Such
evidence points to the DFTD cells having neural ectoderm origins and thus suggests that it is a novel
neuralendocrine tumor. Neuroendocrine tissues are in very high concentrations in tactile tissues such as
the fingertips, the lips and the whisker bed. The last two are the sites where the DFTD neoplasms
originate. There are many types of NETs and DFTD is a malignant NET since it metastisizes in about 2/3s
of cases, high levels of necrosis, rapid tumor growth and high mortality rate (death occurs w/in three
mos. of appearance of the primary neoplasm).