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Induction of Mesenchymal-Epithelial Transitions in Sarcoma Cells
Published on: April 7, 2017
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Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition in Tumor Metastasis
1Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, and Neuberger Berman Foundation Lung Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA;
Annual Review of Pathology
|February 8, 2018
Summary
Epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) drives cancer metastasis and therapeutic resistance. Determining EMT's precise role in metastasis is crucial for developing new cancer treatments.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Cancer Biology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Metastasis is the primary cause of cancer mortality.
- Epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) is linked to cancer progression, enhancing cell mobility, invasion, and apoptosis resistance.
- EMT-induced tumor cells exhibit stem cell characteristics and therapeutic resistance, making EMT a hallmark of carcinogenesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advances and emerging concepts in the biology of EMT in metastasis in vivo.
- To discuss the challenges and future directions in understanding EMT's functional role in metastasis.
- To explore novel diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities targeting EMT pathways.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on EMT and metastasis.
- Analysis of recent studies employing advanced lineage tracing, in vivo imaging, and clinically relevant models.
- Discussion of emerging concepts and future research directions.
Main Results:
- EMT confers metastatic properties, including enhanced cell mobility, invasion, and resistance to apoptosis.
- EMT-derived tumor cells acquire stem cell properties and exhibit significant therapeutic resistance.
- Demonstrating the necessity of EMT for metastasis in vivo remains challenging, with recent findings yielding unexpected results.
Conclusions:
- EMT is a critical factor in cancer metastasis and therapeutic resistance.
- Further investigation using advanced in vivo models is needed to elucidate the functional role of EMT in metastasis.
- Targeting EMT pathways offers promising avenues for novel cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.
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