MicroRNA provides insight into understanding esophageal cancer.

Esophageal cancer remains a leading cause of cancer death worldwide with a distinct geographical distribution. Although the molecular genetics and evolution of this disease have been widely studied over past years, the molecular mechanism of esophageal carcinogenesis is still not well understood. MicroRNAs are now being implicated as playing an important role in the multi-stage progression of tumorigenesis. A number of recent studies have reported that microRNAs shed new light on the pathology of esophageal cancer and herald the potential for exploring novel biomarkers for both diagnosis and treatment of this disease. In this review, we focus on the role of microRNAs in esophageal cancer, as both oncogenes and tumor suppressors, and their clinical potency as biomarkers for diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. © Tianjin Lung Cancer Institute and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty. Ltd.