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EMT, cell plasticity and metastasis

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Abstract

Carcinoma cells that are induced to suppress their epithelial features and upregulate mesenchymal gene expression programs acquire traits that promote an invasive and metastatic phenotype. This is achieved through the expression of a program termed the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)—a fundamental cell-biological process that plays key roles in embryogenesis and wound healing. Re-activation of the EMT during cancer promotes disease progression and enhances the metastatic phenotype by bestowing upon previously benign carcinoma cell traits such as migration, invasion, resistance to anoikis, chemoresistance and tumour-initiating potential. Herein, we discuss recent insights into the function of the EMT and cancer cell plasticity during cancer progression, with a focus on their role in promoting successful completion of the later stages of the metastatic cascade.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia

    Christine L. Chaffer, Beatriz P. San Juan & Elgene Lim

  2. The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, St Vincent’s Hospital, University of New South Wales, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia

    Elgene Lim

  3. Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Robert A. Weinberg

  4. Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Robert A. Weinberg

  5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Ludwig Center for Molecular Oncology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Robert A. Weinberg

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  1. Christine L. Chaffer
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  2. Beatriz P. San Juan
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  3. Elgene Lim
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  4. Robert A. Weinberg
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Correspondence to Christine L. Chaffer or Robert A. Weinberg.

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Chaffer, C.L., San Juan, B.P., Lim, E. et al. EMT, cell plasticity and metastasis. Cancer Metastasis Rev 35, 645–654 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10555-016-9648-7

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