A switch from epithelial to mesenchymal properties correlates with lymphovascular invasion in squamous cell carcinoma of the penis

Our data suggest that roughly half of surgically treated SCCP cases exhibit EMT, a parameter correlating with lymphovascular invasion. However, further studies are clearly needed to validate the so far unresolved possible role of cadherin switch in terms of predicting nodal spread in patients with SCCP. Moreover, the apparently complex mechanisms driving EMT in SCCP should be explored by future studies, as knowledge about these might provide a so far unexploited basis for the development of novel targeted therapies against SCCP with metastatic dissemination.