[Eric A. Taylor (OP)]

I'm not talking about deliberately eating a cancer tumor, but if a person eats meat that happens to contain a carcinoma can that cancer be transferred to the person?

I know that sometimes a tumor can shed cells that can spread the cancer to other parts of the body, but can this happen from an animal to a person (I'm assuming that the person is not a cannibal) from say a cow or pig, or even a bird?

[Kryptid]

I don't think so. Your body would digest eaten cancerous tissue just as it would anything else. Cooking would kill the cancer cells anyway.

[RD]

... looks like this is an infectious cancer that one animal can pass to the next ... an infectious cell line

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/449/

[Bored chemist]

Only an issue if you are not just a Tasmanian Devil, but one who is very closely related to the "donor" of the tumour.
Your immune system would recognise the cancer from a cow or whatever as "not self" and destroy it.
Cooking would kill it anyway.

This just isn't going to happen.

[CliffordK]

Cross species transmission of cancers would be very low, and as Supercryptid mentioned, the tissue would have to be very very fresh (live).

Biologists do infect rats with Human cancers (through surgery).  However, it is only possible to do so with seriously immune compromised rats called "Nude Rats".  Otherwise the natural immune response would be to fight the foreign tissue.

Potentially AIDS patients, transplant patients, or other patients with serious immune deficiencies would be at higher risk.

This brings up a couple of points.  If a person has cancer, or a history of cancer, then they would be automatically excluded from being an organ donor.  Since cancer can spread in the blood, then even unaffected organs would be excluded from transplant.  Likewise, it would be bad for a cancer patient to donate blood.

HPV is a highly communicable viral disease that that carries the risk of developing cervical cancer.  While men can be carriers of the virus, the cancer risk is believed only to be in women.  However, the transmission is likely just creating an environment where cancer can develop, without transmitting the cancer itself.

[Eric A. Taylor (OP)]

Cross species transmission of cancers would be very low, and as Supercryptid mentioned, the tissue would have to be very very fresh (live).

In an effort to acquire the freshest meat possible I once tried to eat a living cow, but it made so much noise the rancher came out and chased me away.

[Eric A. Taylor (OP)]

Cross species transmission of cancers would be very low, and as Supercryptid mentioned, the tissue would have to be very very fresh (live).

Biologists do infect rats with Human cancers (through surgery).  However, it is only possible to do so with seriously immune compromised rats called "Nude Rats".  Otherwise the natural immune response would be to fight the foreign tissue.

Potentially AIDS patients, transplant patients, or other patients with serious immune deficiencies would be at higher risk.

This brings up a couple of points.  If a person has cancer, or a history of cancer, then they would be automatically excluded from being an organ donor.  Since cancer can spread in the blood, then even unaffected organs would be excluded from transplant.  Likewise, it would be bad for a cancer patient to donate blood.

HPV is a highly communicable viral disease that that carries the risk of developing cervical cancer.  While men can be carriers of the virus, the cancer risk is believed only to be in women.  However, the transmission is likely just creating an environment where cancer can develop, without transmitting the cancer itself.

HPV has been recently linked to some kinds of cancer in men, especially oral cancers.

Oral cancers have seen a sharp rise (in both men and women) in the last 30 years, especially in young people. It's thought this might be because oral sex is considered safe sex (as far as AIDS goes).