The endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) are needed for three distinct cellular functions in higher eukaryotes: (i) Multivesicular body formation for the degradation of transmembrane proteins in lysosomes, (ii) midbody abscission during cytokinesis and (iii) retroviral budding. Not surprisingly, loss of ESCRT function has severe consequences, which include the failure to down-regulate growth factor receptors leading to deregulated mitogenic signaling. While it is clear that the function of the ESCRT machinery is important for embryonic development, its role in cancer is more controversial. Various experimental approaches in different model organisms arrive at partially divergent conclusions regarding the contribution of ESCRTs to tumorigenesis. Therefore the aim of this review is to provide an overview on different model systems used to study the role of the ESCRT machinery in cancer development, to highlight common grounds and present certain controversies in the field.

高等真核生物中三种不同的细胞功能需要运输所需的内体分选复合物（ESCRT）：（i）溶酶体中跨膜蛋白降解的多泡体形成，（ii）胞质分裂过程中的中体脱落和（iii）逆转录病毒出芽。毫不奇怪，ESCRT 功能的丧失会产生严重的后果，其中包括无法下调生长因子受体，导致有丝分裂信号传导失调。虽然 ESCRT 机制的功能对于胚胎发育很重要，但它在癌症中的作用却更具争议性。关于 ESRT 对肿瘤发生的贡献，不同模型生物体的各种实验方法得出了部分不同的结论。因此，本综述的目的是概述用于研究 ESCRT 机制在癌症发展中的作用的不同模型系统，强调共同点并提出该领域的某些争议。