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Dear Editor, Despite overall favourable prognosis, thin (≤ 1·0 mm) cutaneous melanomas account for 23% of melanoma deaths in the high-risk general population of Queensland, Australia (2005–2009), because of the sheer volume of disease. The prospect of adjuvant systemic therapy has increased the focus on identifying patients with thin melanoma who are at high risk of death, such as through gene expression profiling (GEP), sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) or prognostic models.

During pregnancy, a bidirectional exchange of cells develops in utero between the mother and her fetus. In addition, the maternal cells can persist in the circulation and tissues of the children long after delivery. This phenomenon is called microchimerism.The transferred maternal cells have been suspected to trigger autoimmune reactions such as juvenile dermatomyositisin the child. However, more recently, maternal cells have been described as able to adopt the host tissue phenotype. In neonatal lupus congenital heart block, myocardiocytes deriving from the mother can be retrieved in the child’s heart.Similarly, in pityriasis lichenoides or in juvenile diabetes, the presence of maternal keratinocytes or pancreatic islet beta-cells have been reported. These studies suggest that persisting maternal stem cells, such as mesenchymal stem cells, can home to the child’s damaged tissue and differentiate in order to participate in the remodelling process.