Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Skin Cancers: A Review

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in physiologic processes such as embryogenesis and wound healing. A similar mechanism occurs in some tumors where cells leave the epithelial layer and gain mesenchymal particularities in order to easily migrate to other tissues. This process can explain the invasiveness and aggressiveness of these tumors which metastasize, by losing the epithelial phenotype (loss of E-cadherin, desmoplakin, and laminin-1) and acquiring mesenchymal markers (N-cadherin). Complex changes and interactions happen between the tumor cells and the microenvironment involving different pathways, transcription factors, altered expression of adhesion molecules, reorganization of cytoskeletal proteins, production of ECM-degrading enzymes, and changes in specific microRNAs. The purpose of this review is to determine particularities of the EMT process in the most common malignant cutaneous tumors (squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma) which still have an increasingly high incidence. More studies are required on this topic in order to establish clear correlations. High costs related to skin cancer therapies in general as well as high impact on patients’ quality of life demand finding new, reliable prognostic and therapeutic markers with significant public health impact.