Abstract
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Lung Cancer: Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), the Missing Link?
Highlights
Lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) commonly coexist in smokers, and the presence of COPD increases the risk of developing lung cancer by 4–5 folds, even when the smoking history is controlled for (Sohal et al, 2014a; Sohal et al, 2013)
In a recent very comprehensive study by Huang and colleagues published in EBioMedicine, provided compelling evidence suggesting strong association between smoking, COPD and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (Huang et al, 2015)
Potential shared biological mechanisms in COPD and lung cancer include: chronic inflammation, matrix degradation, cell proliferation and anti-apoptosis, abnormal wound repair and angiogenesis, but perhaps especially the process of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), a highly plastic process in which epithelial cells change into a mesenchymal phenotype (Yang et al, 2011)
Summary
Lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) commonly coexist in smokers, and the presence of COPD increases the risk of developing lung cancer by 4–5 folds, even when the smoking history is controlled for (Sohal et al, 2014a; Sohal et al, 2013). In a recent very comprehensive study by Huang and colleagues published in EBioMedicine, provided compelling evidence suggesting strong association between smoking, COPD and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (Huang et al, 2015).
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