Nature Communications· 2026Q1
Embryonic origin of cancer in newborn twins
- 1citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Whole genome sequencing of in utero transmitted soft tissue cancer between monozygotic twins revealed asymmetrical embryonic lineage contributions to the placenta and each twin.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Whole genome sequencing was used to analyze a soft tissue cancer transmitted between monozygotic twins in utero.
- The study reconstructed the cancer's evolutionary history (phylogeny).
- Unexpected asymmetrical contributions of embryonic lineages to the placenta and each twin were identified.
- This approach is generalizable and scalable for studying early cancer development.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
ABSTRACT Studying monozygotic twins who present with identical cancers informs on the developmental origins of childhood tumours. Here, we performed 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. This generalisable and scalable approach allows us to dissect the earliest stages of twinning, revealing unexpected asymmetrical contributions of embryonic lineages to the placenta and each twin.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Nature Communications, 2026 · DOI ↗
Continue with a free account
Ask the paper: 3 free questions a day about this paper; save it, get its citation, new summaries every day for your field. Takeaways are Premium.
Continue free on the webSign in with Google or Apple; no card needed. You come back to this paper.
On your phone:
Cancer ResearchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology