The processes of Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) and Mesenchymal Epithelial Transition (MET) have been extensively described in the developmental biology literature, and such processes are thought to be involved in normal organ development including that of the kidney, ovary and neural crest. It has been hypothesized that the EMT process can become hijacked during the development of cancer. Scientists at OSI Pharmaceuticals hypothesize that understanding EMT may provide valuable insight in identifying those patients with tumors most responsive to specific Molecular Targeted Therapeutics (MTT). OSI is working to identify new biomarkers, new EMT-related targets and new drug combinations to target specific tumor types.

References

1. Thiery JP. Epithelial-mesenchymal transitions in development and pathology. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2003; 15:740-746
2. Thiery JP, Sleeman JP. Complex networks orchestrate epithelial-mesenchymal transitions. Nat Rev/Mol Cell Biol 2006; 7:131-142