Cross Talk Between Snail and Mutant K-Ras Contributes to Pancreatic Cancer Progression

Patients with pancreatic cancer, which is characterized by a pronounced fibro-inflammatory reaction, often present with metastases. A critical step in cancer metastasis is epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which can be orchestrated by the Snail family of transcription factors. Significantly, mutations in K-ras are seen in <90% of human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas. In this chapter, we review the cross talk between Snail and mutant K-ras in regulating pancreatic cancer progression. We examine how the interplay between Snail and mutant K-ras mediates EMT, regulates fibrosis and inflammation in pancreatic tumors, and contributes to the generation of pancreatic cancer stem-like cells. We briefly also review the role of additional EMT-regulating transcription factors in pancreatic cancer progression.