Extremely Rare Phenomenon Sees Babies Inhale Cancer Cells During Vaginal Birth
14 JANUARY 2021
It s not impossible for an infant to get cancer from their mother, but it doesn t happen very often.
Researchers estimate transmission of maternal cancer to offspring occurs perhaps only twice in every million births for mothers with cancer, with the diseased cells being delivered to the infant via the placenta in these exceedingly rare and unfortunate cases.
But that s not the only way a mother with cancer might unknowingly infect her child, scientists say.
In a new case study published by researchers in Japan, doctors report what appears to be a medical first: vaginal transmission of cancer cells from mothers with cervical cancer to infants at the moment of their birth.