A new research perspective was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on April 14, 2023, entitled, “Adopted neoplastic cells and the consequences of their existence.” In this research perspective, researcher Yuri Lazebnik from Lerna Consulting begins by explaining a view that guides the bulk of cancer research and oncology: each neoplastic cell in a tumor is a genetic offspring of another neoplastic cell. “Yet, analyzing tumors from transplant patients has revealed that some normal migratory cells adopt the phenotype of neoplastic cells without acquiring their genome, thus becoming what I suggest to call adopted neoplastic cells.” This commentary reviews the evidence for the existence of adopted neoplastic cells, outlines the consequences of their presence, and discusses what kind of cells can be adopted, how and why. “Finally, as experiments with humans can go only that far, and fortunately so, testing the hypotheses we have discussed will require experimental systems, such as human tumor explants which have been explored to reveal intercellular bridging [129, 130] and chimeric animals designed to monitor cell fate, cell fusion, and component transfer [206].” DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28408 Correspondence to - Yuri Lazebnik - yuri@lernaconsulting.com Video short - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THtJfHLi_FM Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://oncotarget.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Foncotarget.28408 Subscribe for free publication alerts from Oncotarget - https://www.oncotarget.com/subscribe/ Keywords - cancer, tumor microenvironment, horizontal oncogenesis, intercellular bridges, cell fusion, cell repair About Oncotarget Oncotarget (a primarily oncology-focused, peer-reviewed, open access journal) aims to maximize research impact through insightful peer-review; eliminate borders between specialties by linking different fields of oncology, cancer research and biomedical sciences; and foster application of basic and clinical science. To learn more about Oncotarget, please visit https://www.oncotarget.com and connect with us: SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/oncotarget Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Oncotarget/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/oncotarget Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/oncotargetjrnl/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@OncotargetJournal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/oncotarget Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/oncotarget/ Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/user/Oncotarget/ Media Contact MEDIA@IMPACTJOURNALS.COM 18009220957