Can the chemotherapeutic agents perform anticancer activity through miRNA expression regulation? Proposing a new hypothesis [corrected].

In the recent advancement of cancer therapy, mortality of the immortal cancer cells begins to decline, and it shows great promise for the chemotherapy regimen supported by targeted therapy. In this post-genomic era boosted by the discovery of microRNA (miRNA), it has been understood that miRNA regulates gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. On the other hand, some studies have also indicated that miRNA expression level has changed during the treatment of chemotherapy. Data based on various previous studies, we propose that the chemotherapeutic agents modulate miRNA expression that might perform anticancerous activities through cellular changes such as DNA repair, cell cycle arrest, or apoptosis.