DNA sequencing reveals how rare cancer spread between twins before birth
Two identical sisters came into the world carrying the same rare cancer. They lost their lives to an undifferentiated sarcoma, a soft-tissue cancer driven by a unique gene fusion (MN1::ZNF341). The story began before they were born, when pregnancy imaging picked up a tumor on Twin A's face. Then came the birth, when cancer deposits were found in both Twin A and Twin B. Researchers now had to work…
Two identical sisters were born carrying the same rare cancer, an undifferentiated sarcoma driven by a unique gene fusion (MN1::ZNF341). Researchers sequenced the genetic code of healthy and tumor tissues, along with placental samples, to trace the cancer's journey between the twins. The findings, published in Nature Communications, revealed that the cancer likely began as a facial tumor in Twin A at the end of the first trimester, which then crossed the placenta to reach Twin B late in the second trimester.
This study challenges the classical model of identical twin development and highlights the extremely rare occurrence of both twins developing the same cancer, either independently or through placental transmission.
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