Fetal Cell Microchimerism in Cancer: A Meaningful Event?

Abstract

The influence of pregnancy on the occurrence and evolution of maternal tumors has been long debated. Breast carcinomas or melanomas have been suspected to be more severe during gestation. Recently, many investigators have described the transfer and persistence of fetal cells in maternal circulation and tissues during and after pregnancy. These fetal microchimeric cells have been described in a variety of maternal injured tissues where they displayed the host-tissue phenotype. Given the wide variety of injury and tissue types described, cancer has appeared as a potential situation that could be influenced by fetal microchimeric cells. This new unexplored effect of gestation on tumor course has been hypothesized as either protective against cancer, via the activity of allogenic fetal cells, or as promoting cancer, via a supportive role of fetal microchimeric cells in the tumor stroma. In this review, we will detail recent data supporting these hypotheses.

Keywords:

• angiogenesis
• breast cancer
• cancer
• fetal cell
• melanoma
• pregnancy
• stroma

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported by the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris Grant CRC04026 and CRC06075, the Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer (ARC, 2007–7929), Pierre et Marie Curie University grant BQR2005 and BQR2007, the Société pour la Recherche en Dermatologie and the INSERM National Program in Dermatology 2007. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris Grant CRC04026 and CRC06075, the Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer (ARC, 2007–7929), Pierre et Marie Curie University grant BQR2005 and BQR2007, the Société pour la Recherche en Dermatologie and the INSERM National Program in Dermatology 2007. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.