Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32507912›Full record

ReviewCancer metastasis reviews2020

Expression and function of epithelial cell adhesion molecule EpCAM: where are we after 40 years?

Olivier Gires, Min Pan, Henrik Schinke, Martin Canis, Patrick A Baeuerle

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cancer metastasis reviews, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 209 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
209citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
14.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

209 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 338 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. PRX5 as a critical driver of colorectal cancer stemness and tumorigenicity.Redox report : communications in free radical research · 2026
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  6. Mapping malignant T-cell states and immune circuits in Sézary syndrome by single-cell analysis.Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV · 2026
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  15. SARS-CoV-2 drives upregulation of EpCAM in respiratory epithelial cells with hypercellular profile during severe COVID-19.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2026
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149 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Olivier GiresDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, Munich, Germany. olivier.gires@med.uni-muenchen.de.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2292-7064
Min PanDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, Munich, Germany.
Henrik SchinkeDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, Munich, Germany.
Martin CanisDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, Munich, Germany.
Patrick A BaeuerleInstitute for Immunology, LMU Munich, Grosshadernerstr. 9, 82152 Planegg, Martinsried, Germany.
LMU Klinikum · DEHelmholtz Zentrum München · DEKendall College · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

EpCAM (epithelial cell adhesion molecule) was discovered four decades ago as a tumor antigen on colorectal carcinomas. Owing to its frequent and high expression on carcinomas and their metastases, EpCAM serves as a prognostic marker, a therapeutic target, and an anchor molecule on circulating and disseminated tumor cells (CTCs/DTCs), which are considered the major source for metastatic cancer cells. Today, EpCAM is reckoned as a multi-functional transmembrane protein involved in the regulation of cell adhesion, proliferation, migration, stemness, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of carcinoma cells. To fulfill these functions, EpCAM is instrumental in intra- and intercellular signaling as a full-length molecule and following regulated intramembrane proteolysis, generating functionally active extra- and intracellular fragments. Intact EpCAM and its proteolytic fragments interact with claudins, CD44, E-cadherin, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and intracellular signaling components of the WNT and Ras/Raf pathways, respectively. This plethora of functions contributes to shaping intratumor heterogeneity and partial EMT, which are major determinants of the clinical outcome of carcinoma patients. EpCAM represents a marker for the epithelial status of primary and systemic tumor cells and emerges as a measure for the metastatic capacity of CTCs. Consequentially, EpCAM has reclaimed potential as a prognostic marker and target on primary and systemic tumor cells.

Indexed as

AnimalsEpithelial Cell Adhesion MoleculeEpithelial-Mesenchymal TransitionHumansNeoplasmsEpithelial Cell Adhesion MoleculeCarcinomaEpCAMEpithelial-to-mesenchymal transitionLiquid biopsyMetastasisRegulated intramembrane proteolysis

Identifiers

PMID32507912
PMCPMC7497325
OpenAlexW3033457790

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.