Published online Jul 6, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i19.4998
Peer-review started: January 28, 2021
First decision: February 24, 2021
Revised: March 11, 2021
Accepted: May 15, 2021
Article in press: May 15, 2021
Published online: July 6, 2021
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is the seventh leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The vast majority of patients who have PC develop metastases, resulting in poor treatment effects. Although great progress in therapeutic approaches has been achieved in recent decades, extensive drug resistance still persists, representing a major hurdle to effective anticancer therapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Therefore, there is an urgent need to better understand the drug resistance mechanisms and develop novel treatment strategies to improve patient outcomes. Numerous studies suggest that chemoresistance is closely related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of PDAC cells. Thus, this article summarizes the impact of EMT on PDAC from the perspective of chemotherapy resistance and discusses the possible novel applications of EMT inhibition to develop more effective drugs against PDAC.
Core Tip: This article reviews the role of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in the emergence of chemotherapy resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and summarizes the potential epithelial-mesenchymal transition targets to overcome chemoresistance.