Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule: An Anchor to Isolate Clinically Relevant Circulating Tumor Cells

Overview

Journal Cells

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Biochemistry
Biophysics
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology

Date 2020 Aug 9

PMID 32764280

Citations 47

Authors

Zahra Eslami-S

Luis Enrique Cortes-Hernandez

Catherine Alix-Panabieres

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In the last few decades, the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) has received increased attention as the main membrane marker used in many enrichment technologies to isolate circulating tumor cells (CTCs). Although there has been a great deal of progress in the implementation of EpCAM-based CTC detection technologies in medical settings, several issues continue to limit their clinical utility. The biology of EpCAM and its role are not completely understood but evidence suggests that the expression of this epithelial cell-surface protein is crucial for metastasis-competent CTCs and may not be lost completely during the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. In this review, we summarize the most significant advantages and disadvantages of using EpCAM as a marker for CTC enrichment and its potential biological role in the metastatic cascade.

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