Moreover, EMT has been implicated in migration and invasion of cancer cells and plays crucial roles in cancer progression and metastasis by the loss of cell polarity, degradation of basement membrane, dismantling of adherent junctions and desmosomes, and the acquisition of mesenchymal characteristics including loss of expression of cell adhesion molecules (such as E-cadherin) and increased expression of vimentin, N-cadherin, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP). The gene discussed is CDH1; the disease is cancer.