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The Emerging Role of EpCAM in Cancer and Stem Cell Signaling

¹ Micromet AG, Munich, Germany; ² Micromet, Inc., Bethesda, Maryland; and ³ Clinical Cooperation Group Molecular Oncology, Helmholtz-Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, and Head and Neck Research Department of Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Munich, Germany

Requests for reprints: Olivier Gires, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Marchioninistr. 15, Munich, 81377 Germany. Phone: 49-89-7095-3895; Fax: 49-89-7095-6896; E-mail: Olivier.Gires{at}med.uni-muenchen.de.

Initially discovered as a dominant antigen on colon carcinomas, the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) was considered a mere cell adhesion molecule and reliable surface-binding site for therapeutic antibodies. Recent findings can better explain the relevance of EpCAM's high-level expression on human cancers and cancer propagating cells, and its negative prognostic potential for survival of patients with certain cancers. EpCAM has oncogenic potential and is activated by release of its intracellular domain, which can signal into the cell nucleus by engagement of elements of the wnt pathway. [Cancer Res 2009;69(14):5627–9]