in multiple epithelial and mesenchymal tumors (Perez-Mancera et al., 2005). In another mouse model, Snail expression determined breast cancer invasiveness and recurrence (Moody et al., 2005). Overexpression of Snail has also been shown to correlate closely with invasiveness and recurrence of breast and colon cancer as well as other cancers in patient studies (Natalwala et al., 2008, Roy et al., 2005, Blanco et al., 2002). We now show, for the first time, that alcohol also promotes EMT in cancer cells through activation of Snail. We propose that Snail-mediated promotion of EMT in epithelial cancer cells by alcohol may be one mechanism for alcohol promotion of cancer progression and poor outcome of colon and breast cancers in alcoholics.
