Data from: Coevolution of cooperative lifestyles and reduced cancer prevalence in mammals

Why cancer is so prevalent among mammals, despite the fact that some
species evolved resistance mechanisms, remains an open question. We
hypothesized that cancer prevalence and mortality risk might have been
fine-tuned by evolution. Using public databases, we show that species with
cooperative habits have lower cancer prevalence and mortality risk. By
developing a mathematical model, we provide a mechanistic explanation: an
oncogenic variant that elicits higher cancer mortality in older and less
reproductive individuals is detrimental to cooperative mammalian societies
but can lead to a counterintuitive overcompensation in population size and
fitness within competitive contexts. The phenomenon of a population
increasing in response to a decrease in its per capita survival rate is
called the hydra effect, a process never explored in the field of cancer
before. Therefore, cancer can be considered as a selected mechanism of
biological obsolescence in competitive species.