Numerous studies have shown DCLK1 overexpression to be significantly correlated with the stage of disease, the presence of metastasis and poor survival rate.
Further study revealed that DCLK1/PI3K/matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2 (MMP-2) was an important pathway that mediated the effect of SETD3 on HCC metastasis.
Collectively, our findings identify DCLK1 as a pivotal regulator of an EMT axis in CRC, thus implicating DCLK1 as a potential therapeutic target for CRC metastasis.
Given the increasingly recognized role of EMT derived stem cells in cancer progression and metastasis, we hypothesize that DCLK1 may contribute to the metastatic process.