In the current study we provide evidence that alcohol induces epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cancer cells and this alcohol effect is mediated through Snail activation. EMT is an active focus of current cancer research with a large body of in vitro, animal, and patient evidence strongly supporting a key role for EMT in cancer progression and metastases (Hugo et al., 2007, Thiery, 2002, Thiery and Sleeman, 2006, Turley et al., 2008, Weinberg, 2008). In addition to breast and colon cancer, evidence supports a role for EMT in oral, nasopharyngeal, esophageal, gastric, rectal, cervical, ovarian, thyroid, pancreatic, and prostate cancer to name only a partial list (Hugo et al., 2007, Natalwala et al., 2008, Turley et al., 2008). Recent animal experiments demonstrated direct in vivo evidence for EMT in breast cancer progression (Trimboli et al., 2008). In colon cancer, it has been shown that EMT (vimentin) is associated with early adenoma progression in the APCMin mouse model (Chen et al., 2008). We now, for the first time, provide compelling evidence to support our hypothesis that alcohol promotes breast and colon cancer migration by stimulating the EMT program in cancer cells.
