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scrangos t1_j0az9ao wrote

Reply to comment by aecarol1 in Will my kids inherit the genetic mutations that I aquire during my lifetime? by RedditScoutBoy

Does that mean the inverse is also true? a mutation on an egg or sperm (not ovaries or testes) will never affect the parent?

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Alpacaofvengeance t1_j0b2ggr wrote

Sperm, not sure, but eggs can become a type of cancer called a teratoma. https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/19/8/1867/2356435

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Bax_Cadarn t1_j0b75uj wrote

There is this type of cancer called seminoma. Every cell that divides can become cancer.

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scrangos t1_j0bevhu wrote

Ohh, interesting, I wasn't aware that eggs and possibly sperm even were able to replicate on their own, as they don't even have that as part of their regular function.

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G3Minus t1_j0b3g0s wrote

For the sake of your mental health, please DO NOT learn what a teratoma is. Creepy af.

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Xanjis t1_j0b3ikm wrote

If the mutation isn't cancerous it would probably be fine since those reproductive don't really do anything for the parent. If it is a cancerous mutation the problem is it will tend to spread to the rest of the body.

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aecarol1 t1_j0bv18q wrote

Any cell that can divide can become cancer. I don't think it's possible for sperm to become cancerous because they simply don't have all the machinery to divide, but egg cells certainly can divide (not normally) and can initiate a cancer.

The germ cells, which divide to produce eggs and sperm, can also develop cancer.

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