On 2016 Jan 12, Yuri Lazebnik commented:

A role for parasites and cell fusion in the emergence of transmissible cancers? Yuri Lazebnik & George Parris. The finding of cancerous tapeworm cells in the human body calls for a comprehensive mechanistic explanation to understand the significance of this discovery. One clue may be the prominent feature of the cells – aberrant cell fusion. Normally, cell fusion shapes some of the tapeworm organs. The observed promiscuous fusion, however, would be expected to generate abnormal cells Duelli D, 2003 and promote their clonal evolution by causing chromosomal instability Duelli DM, 2007, Duelli D, 2007, Lazebnik Y, 2014, by changing gene expression or causing dedifferentiation Bulla GA, 2010, Koulakov AA, 2012, and by serving as an equivalent of sexual reproduction, a powerful force in the evolution of species Parris G, 2006. Fusion with human cells, followed by unilateral genome reduction common to interspecies hybrids, or acquiring human DNA through other forms of gene transfer (both possibilities can be tested by searching for the stretches of DNA containing both human and worm sequences) would “humanize” the cells, thus helping them bypass host defenses. Such a breeding ground could produce evolving and transmissible cancer cells that are a species of its own. If so, the study by Muehlenbachs et al. may be a glimpse into how transmittable cancers, including those in humans Lazebnik Y, 2015, can originate.

On 2016 Jan 12, Yuri Lazebnik commented:

A role for parasites and cell fusion in the emergence of transmissible cancers? Yuri Lazebnik & George Parris. The finding of cancerous tapeworm cells in the human body calls for a comprehensive mechanistic explanation to understand the significance of this discovery. One clue may be the prominent feature of the cells – aberrant cell fusion. Normally, cell fusion shapes some of the tapeworm organs. The observed promiscuous fusion, however, would be expected to generate abnormal cells Duelli D, 2003 and promote their clonal evolution by causing chromosomal instability Duelli DM, 2007, Duelli D, 2007, Lazebnik Y, 2014, by changing gene expression or causing dedifferentiation Bulla GA, 2010, Koulakov AA, 2012, and by serving as an equivalent of sexual reproduction, a powerful force in the evolution of species Parris G, 2006. Fusion with human cells, followed by unilateral genome reduction common to interspecies hybrids, or acquiring human DNA through other forms of gene transfer (both possibilities can be tested by searching for the stretches of DNA containing both human and worm sequences) would “humanize” the cells, thus helping them bypass host defenses. Such a breeding ground could produce evolving and transmissible cancer cells that are a species of its own. If so, the study by Muehlenbachs et al. may be a glimpse into how transmittable cancers, including those in humans Lazebnik Y, 2015, can originate.