What is epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer?

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), a transition from polarized epithelial cells to motile mesenchymal cells mediated by a series of activation signals, confers breast tumor cells with enhanced stem cell, invasive, and metastatic properties.

What triggers epithelial-mesenchymal transition?

EMT has been shown to be induced by androgen deprivation therapy in metastatic prostate cancer. Activation of EMT programs via inhibition of the androgen axis provides a mechanism by which tumor cells can adapt to promote disease recurrence and progression.

What is EMT breast cancer?

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, and approximately 90% of breast cancer deaths are caused by local invasion and distant metastasis of tumor cells. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a vital process for large-scale cell movement during morphogenesis at the time of embryonic development.

What is epithelial-mesenchymal transition EMT and what is its proposed role in cancer?

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a complex developmental program that enables carcinoma cells to suppress their epithelial features changing to mesenchymal ones. This change allows cells to acquire mobility and the capacity to migrate from the primary site.

Is the epithelial mesenchymal transition associated with breast cancer?

To date, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenomenon has been the favored explanation of distant metastases for epithelial cancers including breast cancer. The essential features of EMT are associated with disruption of intracellular tight junctions and loss of cell-cell contact.

How is EMT related to breast cancer metastasis?

EMT and Breast Cancer Metastasis It has been commonly believed that EMT may theoretically contribute to breast tumor metastasis. However, since the association of tumor metastases with EMT is mostly predicated on studies from cancer cell lines, the metastasis due to EMT in clinical scenarios needs to be validated.

What happens to epithelial cells during EMT?

During the process of EMT, epithelial cancer cells acquire molecular alternations that facilitate the loss of epithelial features and gain of mesenchymal phenotype. Such transformation promotes cancer cell migration and invasion.

Which is more invasive basal or epithelial breast cancer?

Luminal A, Luminal B and HER2-enriched tumors retain most epithelial features, while basal-like tumors exhibit both basal and mesenchymal features [5,6]. Basal-like breast cancer cells are constitutively more invasive. In addition, HER2-enriched tumors are also more likely to develop metastatic disease.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q2lJY4dCFk