Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition: The Ultimate Driver of Cancer on Difficult Paths

Abstract

Metastasis is the perilous aspect of cancer and is responsible for 90% of deaths due to cancer. It represents an enigmatic and complex biological cascade that is poorly understood. The constant development in cancer research and the advent of new principles in metastasis have discovered some of the molecular keystones like epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer stem cells (CSCs) of this cascade. Acknowledgment of the communications between cancer cells and their micro-environment enlightens the biology of metastasis and allows us to understand the mechanism of EMT induction and its role in governing invasion, migration, plasticity, colonization, and therapeutic resistance. EMT is the principal reason behind the cancer cells’ complex behavior, tremendous plasticity, survival, and adoption in a constantly changing environment. Thus, EMT is a perfect driver mechanism to execute metastasis and develop resistance against conventional and targeted therapies. Studies have also discovered the role of EMT in CSCs generation and offered us prospects for evolving more effective treatments to target metastasis and improved patient prognosis. Our primary aim in the present review is to summarize the induction and role of EMT in cancer. This review not only discusses the role of EMT in metastasis but also uncovers the role of EMT in survival, metabolism, and CSCs generation. Further, in this review, we also discuss the strategy to target the EMT for the development of new and effective therapeutics for cancer management.