Scientists prove cancer can be passed on in the womb

• First proven case of cells crossing placental barrier • Discovery hailed as vital to research into the disease Scientists have established beyond doubt that in rare cases cancer can be transmitted in the womb, following the birth of a baby to a woman with leukaemia. A team at the Institute of Cancer Research, a college of the University of London, working with colleagues in Japan, found that the cancer had defied accepted theories of biology. Leukaemia cells had crossed the placenta and spread from the 28-year-old mother to her unborn baby. There have been suspicions for years that cancer could be passed on in the womb. About 17 cases of suspected mother-to-child transmission have been noted – usually leukaemia or melanoma. But until now researchers have been unable to establish whether it had happened and, if so, how. If the cells did cross the placental barrier,...

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