Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 7, 2016; 22(1): 1-7
Published online Jan 7, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i1.1
Current understanding of the functional roles of aberrantly expressed microRNAs in esophageal cancer
Christine Kestens, Peter D Siersema, Jantine WPM van Baal
Christine Kestens, Peter D Siersema, Jantine WPM van Baal, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Medical Center Utrecht, 3508 GA Utrecht, The Netherlands
Author contributions: Kestens C reviewed literature, drafted the manuscript; Siersema PD made critical revision; van Baal JWPM contributed to drafting of the manuscript, critical revision.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Jantine WPM van Baal, PhD, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Medical Center Utrecht, PO Box 85500, 3508 GA Utrecht, The Netherlands. j.w.p.m.vanbaal-2@umcutrecht.nl
Telephone: +31-88-7556279 Fax: +31-88-7555081
Received: August 14, 2015
Peer-review started: August 19, 2015
First decision: October 14, 2015
Revised: October 20, 2015
Accepted: November 9, 2015
Article in press: November 9, 2015
Published online: January 7, 2016
Processing time: 248 Days and 11.6 Hours
Abstract

The incidence of esophageal cancer is rising, mostly because the increasing incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma in Western countries. Despite improvements in diagnosis and treatment, the overall 5-year survival rates remain low. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that regulate the expression of target genes. Recently, disease specific miRNAs have been identified, which act as tumor suppressors or oncogenes. In this review, we will summarize the current knowledge about the function of aberrantly expressed miRNAs in esophageal cancer. We selected 5 miRNAs (miRNA-21, -143, -145, -196a and let-7) based on the available literature, and described their potential role in regulating pathways that are deregulated in esophageal cancer. Finally we will highlight the current achievements of using and targeting miRNAs. Because these miRNAs likely have important regulatory roles in cancer development, they open a therapeutic window for new treatment modalities.

Keywords: Esophageal cancer; Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Esophageal adenocarcinoma; MicroRNAs; Target genes

Core tip: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) likely have important regulatory roles in the development of cancer as they target essential pathways. Here, we review the function of aberrantly expressed miRNAs in esophageal cancer, with the aim to provide guidelines for future studies focusing on the function of miRNAs and the development of new treatment modalities.