Abstract. Esophageal cancer (EC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. EC is usually diagnosed at a locally advanced stage or at a stage with involvement of lymph nodes. Despite aggressive treatment, the overall five-year survival rate remains poor. microRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding endogenous RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional and/or translational level. Accumulating evidence suggests that the deregulation of miRNAs not only results in cancer progression, but also directly promotes tumor initiation. Previous studies found that miRNAs are frequently deregulated in EC, indicating that miRNAs are important in tumorigenesis. In this review, we summarize therecently recognized miRNA expression and its impact on the biology of EC and the potential applications for EC.
Contents1. Introduction 2. miRNA synthesis and biological properties 3. miRNAs as tumor suppressor genes 4. miRNAs as oncogenes 5. miRNAs in EC 6. miRNAs serving as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in EC 7. The role of miRNAs in invasion and metastasis of EC 8. The role of miRNAs in the growth of EC 9. Single nucleotide polymorphisms of miRNAs in EC 10. The roles of epigenetic regulation of miRNAs in EC 11. The role of miRNAs in treatment of EC 12. Conclusion
IntroductionThe incidence and mortality of esophageal cancer (EC) are high, and rank eighth and sixth, respectively, out of all types of cancer, affecting more males than females (1). Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and adenocarcinoma (EAC) are the two main subtypes of EC in terms of pathological characteristics. ESCC remains the dominant subtype of EC. EC is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage or with lymph node metastases. Due to the potential characteristics of invasion and metastasis in esophageal carcinoma cells, which are important prognostic factors, the overall 5-year survival rate is poor despite advanced treatment (1,2). Improved understanding of the biological behavior in EC is important for the development of new therapeutic strategies and diagnostic methods. microRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding single-stranded, endogenous RNA molecules, approximately 21-25 ribonucleotides in length and highly conserved in evolution, which negatively regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional and/or translational level. miRNAs are important in diverse biological processes including development, cell differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, hormone secretion, tumor formation and drug resistance (3-5). Experimental evidence revealed that the majority of human miRNA genes are located at fragile sites and genomic regions involved in cancer, functioning as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes (6-8). In this review, we aim to summarize the recognized miRNAs that play roles in the development of EC and the mechanism by which miRNAs are involved in EC.
miRNA synthesis and biological propertiesmiRNAs form clusters transcribed as polycistronic transcripts by RNA polymerase II and/or III, which undergo sequential steps of matura...