Wraith cancer is a cancer-like disease accidentally created through use of the Wraith gene therapy.
Overview[]
As the Wraith gene therapy removed a hive ship full of Wraith's feeding hands and activated their digestive systems, it created a cancer-like disease that infected everyone that took the gene therapy at the same time that their immune systems were weakened. The Wraith's inherent regenerative abilities were not strong enough to counter the disease, nor could they find a cure. Symptoms were shown to include bouts of debilitating pain and occasional shortness of breath. The disease was ultimately fatal for those infected, though the infected appeared to have a varied time on when the disease would become fatal as Todd was the first to take the gene therapy yet some of the Wraith who were infected after him died first.
Due to an exchange of fluids between a Wraith and their hive ship while the Wraith is in hibernation, an infected Wraith is capable of passing the disease along to the hive ship. In a hive ship, the disease causes massive power fluctuations and glitching systems. Unchecked, the disease has the potential to destroy an infected hive ship. (SGA: "Infection")
History[]
After stealing some of the data on Doctor Jennifer Keller's Wraith gene therapy from the Daedalus while he was in control of the ship, Todd chose to try the gene therapy on himself out of curiosity if it would work. After the gene therapy successfully removed his feeding hand and activated his digestive system, Todd gave it to the crew of his hive ship. Unknown to the crew at the time, the gene therapy resulted in the creation of the Wraith cancer. Wraith who had been given the gene therapy started to become sick and died and the Wraith were unable to find a cure. Out of options, Todd chose to have his crew enter hibernation and send the ship on autopilot to Atlantis to seek the help of the Atlantis expedition.
After detecting the arrival of the hive ship in orbit, Atlantis sent up the First Atlantis Reconnaissance Team which discovered a video message from Todd explaining the situation. Keller was able to go over the Wraith medical data and determine the source of the cancer, but was unable to come up with a cure. With Wraith warriors awakening and attacking and the hive ship experiencing strange power fluctuations, the team attempted to leave only to discover that the hive ship was reconfiguring itself, resulting in walls appearing where they hadn't previously existed and a massive hole in the interior of the ship. After being awakened, Todd determined that the hibernating Wraith had inadvertently given their hive ship the disease, essentially turning it into a giant tumor.
With the hive ship falling apart and unable to escape, Todd and Keller worked to find a cure with no success as Todd's condition worsened. Todd eventually proposed using an ancient treatment for terminally ill Wraith where an Iratus bug queen would feed on the Wraith in question and it would potentially restore the Wraith to full health if they survived the treatment. However, due to the deteriorating condition of the hive ship, Lt. Colonel John Sheppard refused to take a chance on making the three day journey in hyperspace. Soon after, the disease caused a massive weak point across the width of the hive ship, splitting it in half and effectively destroying the hive ship. The surviving Wraith aside from Todd infected with the disease died when the rear section depressurized in the split. The forward section entered the atmosphere of New Lantea where Todd managed to make a relatively safe crash-landing in the ocean using the forward maneuvering thrusters with the help of Doctor Rodney McKay. The front half of the diseased hive ship sank in the ocean shortly after an Atlantis rescue team saved the humans and Todd stuck aboard the forward half of the ship. With Todd's condition continuing to deteriorate with no luck in finding a cure, Sheppard convinced Richard Woolsey to send Todd through the Stargate to seek out an Iratus bug queen to cure him. (SGA: "Infection")
After contacting Atlantis to warn them about the super-hive, Todd revealed that the treatment, though "excruciatingly painful", worked and he was cured of the disease he was inflicted with. It also reversed the gene therapy that had led to the creation of the disease as well. (SGA: "Enemy at the Gate")