Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. May 16, 2015; 3(5): 393-404
Published online May 16, 2015. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v3.i5.393
Epithelial-mesenchymal, mesenchymal-epithelial, and endothelial-mesenchymal transitions in malignant tumors: An update
Simona Gurzu, Sabin Turdean, Attila Kovecsi, Anca Otilia Contac, Ioan Jung
Simona Gurzu, Sabin Turdean, Attila Kovecsi, Anca Otilia Contac, Ioan Jung, Department of Pathology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Tirgu-Mures, 540139 Tirgu Mures, Romania
Author contributions: Gurzu S designed research and drafted the article; Turdean S analysed and interpreted the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) literature data in hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinomas; Kovecsi A analysed and interpreted literature data in the field of EMT in gastrointestinal stromal tumors; Contac AO analysed and interpreted data from literature in field of EMT in gastrointestinal carcinomas; Jung I analysed and interpreted data from literature in field of EMT in sarcomas, lung and breast cancer, and approved the final variant of the article.
Supported by The University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Tirgu-Mures, Romania, team research projects frame: UMFTGM-PO-CC-02-F01-No 19/2014.
Conflict-of-interest: None declared.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Simona Gurzu, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pathology of Tirgu-Mures, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 38 Ghe Marinescu Street, 540139 Tirgu Mures, Romania. simonagurzu@yahoo.com
Telephone: +40-745-673550 Fax: +40-265-210407
Received: January 26, 2015
Peer-review started: January 28, 2015
First decision: February 7, 2015
Revised: February 12, 2015
Accepted: March 30, 2015
Article in press: April 2, 2015
Published online: May 16, 2015
Abstract

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) represents conversion of an epithelial cell in an elongated cell with mesenchymal phenotype, which can occur in physiologic and pathologic processes such as embryogenesis (type 1 EMT), wound healing and/or fibrosis (type 2 EMT) and malignant tumors (type 3 EMT). The proliferation rate, metastasizing and recurrence capacity, as also the individualized response at chemotherapics, in both epithelial and mesenchymal malignant tumors is known to be influenced by reversible switch between EMT and mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET). Although much research work has already been done in these fields, the specific molecular pathways of EMT, relating to the tumor type and tumor localization, are yet to be elucidated. In this paper, based on the literature and personal experience of the authors, an update in the field of EMT vs MET in epithelial and mesenchymal tumors is presented. The authors tried to present the latest data about the particularities of these processes, and also of the so-called endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition, based on tumor location. The EMT-angiogenesis link is discussed as a possible valuable parameter for clinical follow-up and targeted therapeutic oncologic management. The paper begins with presentation of the basic aspects of EMT, its classification and assessment possibilities, and concludes with prognostic and therapeutic perspectives. The particularities of EMT and MET in gastric and colorectal carcinomas, pancreatic cancer, hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinomas, and lung, breast and prostate cancers, respectively in sarcomas and gastrointestinal stromal tumors are presented in detail.

Keywords: Gastrointestinal stromal tumor, Carcinoma, Gastrointestinal cancer, Hepatic cancer, Sarcoma

Core tip: This review, based on the personal experience of gastrointestinal pathologists, which correlates with literature data, is intended to provide an up-date in the field of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and mesenchymal-epithelial transition in epithelial and mesenchymal-malignant tumors, respectively. The molecular mechanism of these processes and their possible role in tumor progression, metastasis and therapy are presented in detail.