Clinicopathologic significance of epithelio-mesenchymal transition in human lung adenocarcinomas: An integrative analysis, inclusive of genetic alterations, on 256 surgically resected cases

The significance of epithelio-mesenchymal transition in lung adenocarcinoma remains controversial in clinical settings. We retrospectively studied the combination of epithelial and mesenchymal markers on 256 patients. The EMT activation levels showed a trend for pathologic local invasiveness, node metastases, and poor survival. These findings suggest that EMT is the challenging target for the malignant progression, and is worth further investigation.