[Research progress on epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancer recurrence and metastasis].

ABSTRACT

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process in which epithelial cells lose their morphology and function and gradually transformed into mesenchymal-like cells. It is considered that EMT is the main cause for tumor recurrence and metastasis. Many factors are involved in the regulation of EMT, such as E-cadherin, transforming growth factor-ß, Wnt signaling pathway, microRNA and EMT-related transcription factors. This article reviews the research progress on EMT and the involved mechanisms, and thus to provide a new perspective on cancer therapy in the future.