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Review
. 2017 May 23;8(21):35376-35389.
doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.15686.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition in prostate cancer: an overview

Micaela Montanari  1   2 , Sabrina Rossetti  1 , Carla Cavaliere  1   3 , Carmine D'Aniello  1   4 , Maria Gabriella Malzone  1   5 , Daniela Vanacore  1 , Rossella Di Franco  1   6 , Elvira La Mantia  1   5 , Gelsomina Iovane  1   7 , Raffaele Piscitelli  1 , Raffaele Muscariello  8 , Massimiliano Berretta  9 , Sisto Perdonà  8 , Paolo Muto  6 , Gerardo Botti  5   10 , Attilio Antonio Montano Bianchi  11 , Bianca Maria Veneziani  2 , Gaetano Facchini  1   7
Affiliations
Review

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition in prostate cancer: an overview

Micaela Montanari et al. Oncotarget. .

Abstract

Prostate cancer is a main urological disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy are potentially curative for localized prostate cancer, while androgen deprivation therapy is the initial systemic therapy for metastatic prostate disease. However, despite temporary response, most patients relapse and evolve into castration resistant cancer.Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a complex gradual process that occurs during embryonic development and/or tumor progression. During this process, cells lose their epithelial characteristics and acquire mesenchymal features. Increasing evidences indicate that EMT promotes prostate cancer metastatic progression and it is closely correlated with increased stemness and drug resistance.In this review, we discuss the main molecular events that directly or indirectly govern the EMT program in prostate cancer, in order to better define the role and the mechanisms underlying this process in prostate cancer progression and therapeutic resistance.

Keywords: EGF/EGFR; TGF-β signaling; androgen receptor; epithelial-mesenchymal transition; prostate cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Schematic representation of main players and crosstalks governing EMT in prostate cancer
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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