Embryonic origin of cancer in newborn twins
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 2, 2026

A Neonatal Intravenous Transplant Model for Assessment of Early-Life Immune Activities Against Cancer Cells
Published on: June 26, 2026
Barbara Walkowiak1, Sadie Baskind2,3, Manas Dave1,4
1Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK.
Abstract:
Studying monozygotic twins who present with identical cancers informs on the developmental origins of childhood tumours. Here, we perform whole genome sequencing on multiple tumour, normal, and placental samples to reconstruct the phylogeny of a soft tissue cancer that spread in utero between monozygotic twins. We demonstrate the origin of the tumour from one twin and time its diversification and transplacental spread to the other twin, showing that the spread occurred only once. This generalisable and scalable approach additionally allows us to dissect the earliest stages of twinning, revealing unexpected asymmetrical contributions of embryonic lineages to the placenta and each twin and challenging the classical model of twinning.
Related Concept Videos
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
Cancer
The Retinoblastoma Gene
The first-ever tumor suppressor gene called Rb was identified in retinoblastoma - a rare eye tumor in children. In inherited forms of the disease, a child inherits one defective copy of the Rb gene, which predisposes them to retinoblastoma. However,...
Zygotic Development And Stem Cell Formation
Tumor Progression
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...

