Accumulation of intermediate metabolites of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle in tumor cells can cause epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), although the exact mechanisms remain elusive. Recent studies show that the oncometabolite fumarate, which accumulates in fumarate hydratase-deficient renal cancers, confers tumor aggressiveness by causing epigenetic changes in the antimetastatic miRNA cluster mir-200ba429. This may have important implications for the use of fumarates in the clinic.

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doi.org/10.1016/j.molmed.2016.12.001, hdl.handle.net/1765/95178
Trends in Molecular Medicine
Department of Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Fuhler, G., Eppinga, H., & Peppelenbosch, M. (2017). Fumarates and Cancer. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 23(1), 3–5. doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2016.12.001