News Release

Erythropoietin and the regulation of cancer stem cell growth and survival

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Landes Bioscience

In recent years, non-hematopoietic effects of erythropoietin (EPO), via its binding to the EPO receptor in non-hematopoietic tissues, including cancerous tissues, has been reported by many different laboratories worldwide. However, it remains controversial concerning whether EPO, particularly recombinant EPO that is used to treat anemia in patients, may promote cancer cell proliferation and survival.

In this paper, the authors show evidence indicating the presence of autocrine/paracrine EPO in the conditioned medium of cultured breast cancer cells and a functional role of an EPO-EPOR autocrine/paracrine loop in regulating tumor cell invasion and migration, and the stem-ness of breast cancer cells. The data support a novel paradigm wherein autocrine/paracrine EPO may regulate tumorigenesis of breast cancer via stimulating a small percentage of stem-like cancer cells or tumor-initiating cells. This mode of EPO action may explain why some studies reported in literature failed to demonstrate a pro-proliferative and pro-survival role of EPO in cancer cells when whole-populations of cancer cells were analyzed in these studies.

For the full report by Liang et al. in Cancer Biology & Therapy, visit the following link: https://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/cbt/article/26717/

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Published by Landes Bioscience since 2002, Cancer Biology & Therapy publishes relevant and high-impact original research with a special focus on the molecular basis of cancer, including articles with translational relevance to diagnosis or therapy. Established in 2002, Landes Bioscience is an Austin, Texas-based publisher of biology research journals and books. For more information on Landes Bioscience, please visit http://www.landesbioscience.com/.


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