Regulation of Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition in Endometrial Cancer: Connecting PI3K, Estrogen Signaling, and MicroRNAs

Overview

Journal Clin Transl Oncol

Specialty Oncology

Date 2016 Feb 10

PMID 26856598

Citations 22

Authors

C N Kent

I K Guttilla Reed

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Endometrial cancer (EC) prognosis is dependent on many factors such as time of diagnosis, histological type, and degree of invasion. Type I EC has a more favorable prognosis as it is less prone to myometrial invasion, which is believed to be the first step in the metastatic cascade. Type II EC displays a more aggressive and motile phenotype, and therefore has a poorer prognosis. Recent work suggests that despite the epithelial nature of Type I and Type II endometrial tumors, both are capable of undergoing an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which may facilitate myometrial invasion and metastasis. Activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway has been shown to contribute to EMT through the upregulation of EMT-associated factors. Recent research has also linked estrogen signaling and microRNAs to the regulatory mechanisms that drive EMT in EC. Understanding the intricate relationships between these pathways will provide a better understanding of metastatic progression in EC.

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