The mutually regulatory loop of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and immunosuppression in cancer progression

Limo Chen; John V Heymach; F Xiao-Feng Qin; Don L Gibbons

doi:10.1080/2162402X.2014.1002731

The mutually regulatory loop of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and immunosuppression in cancer progression

Oncoimmunology. 2015 Feb 3;4(5):e1002731. doi: 10.1080/2162402X.2014.1002731. eCollection 2015 May.

Authors

Limo Chen¹, John V Heymach¹, F Xiao-Feng Qin², Don L Gibbons³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center ; Houston, TX USA.
² Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center ; Houston, TX USA ; Center of Systems Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences , Suzhou, China ; Institute of Systems Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College , Beijing, China.
³ Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center ; Houston, TX USA ; Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center ; Houston, TX USA.

Abstract

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition and immunosuppression are crucial for cancer metastasis and treatment resistance. The mechanism by which these distinct processes are co-opted remains incompletely understood. Our recent work has exposed the "dirty affairs" of the 2 at the tumor site, thus calling for a combined therapy to break such a dangerous liaison.

Keywords: epithelial–mesenchymal transition; immunosuppression; miRNA; therapy resistance; tumor microenvironment.