Mother can pass on cancer in womb

There are very rare cases where a mother and child appear to share the same cancer, but in theory the child's immune system should block the cancer.

However, an analysis by a British-led team of one such case shows the cells which caused leukaemia in the child could only have come from the mother.

The study appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Whether it is possible for a mother to "infect" her unborn child with cancer has puzzled scientists for 100 years.

In theory any cancer cells that manage to cross the placenta into the baby's bloodstream should be targeted for destruction by the child's immune system.

But there are records of 17 cases of a mother and baby appearing to share the same cancer - usually leukaemia or melanoma.

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