Microwave ablation (MWA), a thermal ablation, is an effective treatment for
breast cancer. However, residual
breast cancer is still detected. The biological characteristics of residual
breast cancer after thermal ablation remain unknown. To mimic insufficient MWA in vitro,
breast cancer cells were treated at 37°C, 42°C, 45°C, 47°C and 50°C for 10 mins, the 37°C as control group. Insufficient MWA induced EMT-like changes of residual
breast cancer by down-regulation of
E-cadherin and up-regulation of
vimentin and
N-cadherin in vitro and in vivo. For the first time, we reported insufficient MWA promoted distant
metastasis of residual
breast cancer in vivo. Reduced β-
catenin expression by
siRNA diminished the EMT-like phenotype and enhanced migration capability induced by heat treatment in
breast cancer cells. Moreover,
ICG001, a special inhibitor of β-
catenin pathway, depressed EMT of
residual tumor and distant
metastasis in an insufficient MWA nude mice model of
breast cancer. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that insufficient MWA promotes EMT of residual
breast cancer by activating β-
catenin signal pathway, resulting in enhanced distant
metastasis of residual
breast cancer. In addition, the effectiveness of
ICG001 in suppressing enhanced
metastasis of residual
breast cancer is preliminarily validated.