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• Maier, H
• Wirth, T
• Beug, H
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• Wirth, T
• Beug, H
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• Wirth, T
• Beug, H

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Cancers 2010, 2(4), 2058-2083; doi:10.3390/cancers2042058

Review

Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Pancreatic Carcinoma

Harald J. Maier ^1,* , Thomas Wirth ^1,†  and Hartmut Beug ^2,†

¹ Institute of Physiological Chemistry, University of Ulm, 89081 Ulm, Germany ² Institute of Molecular Pathology, 1030 Vienna, Austria ^† These authors contributed equally.

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 9 November 2010; in revised form: 1 December 2010 / Accepted: 1 December 2010 / Published: 9 December 2010

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pancreatic Cancer)

Download PDF Full-Text [454 KB, uploaded 9 December 2010 12:44 CET]

Abstract: Pancreatic carcinoma is the fourth-leading cause of cancer death and is characterized by early invasion and metastasis. The developmental program of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is of potential importance for this rapid tumor progression. During EMT, tumor cells lose their epithelial characteristics and gain properties of mesenchymal cells, such as enhanced motility and invasive features. This review will discuss recent findings pertinent to EMT in pancreatic carcinoma. Evidence for and molecular characteristics of EMT in pancreatic carcinoma will be outlined, as well as the connection of EMT to related topics, e.g., cancer stem cells and drug resistance.

Keywords: pancreatic adenocarcinoma; epithelial-mesenchymal transition; tumor progression; cancer stem cells; chemoresistance

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