Fig. 2
From: Differences and similarities between cancer and somatic stem cells: therapeutic implications
Role of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in inducing cancer cell-like phenotype. Cancer epithelial cells can undergo EMT to induce a cancer stem cell-like phenotype that expresses characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells. They can also revert back, using a process called mesenchymal epithelial transition (MET) in which they reacquire epithelial cell characteristics. These processes contribute to cancer cells invasive capacities and new cancer initiation