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.

中文翻译：

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皮肤癌的上皮-间质转化：综述。

上皮-间质转化（EMT）涉及诸如胚胎发生和伤口愈合的生理过程。在一些肿瘤中，细胞离开上皮层并获得间充质特异性，从而易于迁移到其他组织，发生了类似的机制。该过程可以通过丧失上皮表型（E-钙粘蛋白，桥粒蛋白和层粘连蛋白-1的缺失）并获得间充质标记物（N-钙粘蛋白）来解释这些转移的肿瘤的侵袭性和侵略性。肿瘤细胞与微环境之间发生复杂的变化和相互作用，涉及不同的途径，转录因子，粘附分子表达的改变，细胞骨架蛋白的重组，ECM降解酶的产生以及特定microRNA的变化。这篇综述的目的是确定在最常见的恶性皮肤肿瘤（鳞状细胞癌，基底细胞癌和黑色素瘤）中EMT过程的特殊性，这些肿瘤的发病率仍在不断上升。为了建立明确的相关性，需要对此主题进行更多研究。通常，与皮肤癌疗法相关的高成本以及对患者生活质量的高影响要求找到对公众健康有重大影响的新型，可靠的预后和治疗标志。