Pirfenidone plays a biphasic role in inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in non-small cell lung cancer

摘要

Introduction: Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) relates to both organ fibrosis and malignant behavior of cancer. Pirfenidone (PFD) is an anti-fibrotic agent for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and one of its functions may be to inhibit fibrotic EMT. This study aimed to investigate the possibility that PFD might exert an anti-tumor effect through inhibition of EMT in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines in vitro and in vivo.