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Transition states that allow cancer to spread

Cancers of epithelial-cell origin often contain some tumour cells that have acquired traits of mesenchymal cells. How this leads to cancer spread has now been illuminated in mouse models.
  1. Erik W. Thompson

    1. Erik W. Thompson is in the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, and the School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane QLD 4059, Australia; and is also at the Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, Australia.

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  2. Shivashankar H. Nagaraj

    1. Shivashankar H. Nagaraj is in the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, and the School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane QLD 4059, Australia; and is also at the Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, Australia.

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In cancers that arise from epithelial cells, some of the tumour cells adopt features of mesenchymal cells and lose their epithelial characteristics. This phenomenon is known as the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and the emergence of cells with mesenchymal features is often associated with a poorer prognosis for patients. How this transition occurs and the implications of EMT for metastasis, the process by which cancer spreads, are not fully understood. In a paper in Nature, Pastushenko et al.1 report an analysis of mouse tumours undergoing EMT, revealing that distinct cell populations can be identified during this transition.

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Nature 556, 442-444 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-04403-x

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