Abstract: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignant tumor in the western countries. In recent years, the incidence of PCa in China is increasing year by year. Snail is a zinc finger transcription factor, which belongs to members of snail super-family. Its sequence and function are very conservative. It plays a positive role in embryonic development,tumor-genesis, cell signal transduction, gene expression, cell cycle regulation and wound healing. It has been reported that snail promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition, E-cadherin degradation and tumor cell invasion. Research reports about snail in PCa are increasing. This review focused on the role of snail in PCa and introduced some scientific strategies for the treatment of PCa.

Key words: prostatic neoplasms, review, snail, zinc finger transcription factor, epithelial-mesenchymal transition