The five-year survival rate of esophageal cancer patients is less than 20%. This may be due to increased resistance (acquired or intrinsic) of tumor cells to chemo/radiotherapies, often caused by aberrant cell cycle, deregulated apoptosis, increases in growth factor signaling pathways, and/or changes in the proteome network. In addition, deregulation in non-coding RNA-mediated signaling pathways may contribute to resistance to therapies. At the molecular level, these resistance factors have now been linked to various microRNA (miRNAs), which have recently been shown to control cell development, differentiation and neoplasia. The increased stability and dysregulated expression of miRNAs have been associated with increased resistance to various therapies in several cancers, including esophageal cancer. Therefore, miRNAs represent the next generation of molecules with tremendous potential as biomarkers and therapeutic targets. However, detailed studies on miRNA-based therapeutic interventions are still in their infancy. Hence, in this review, we have summarized the current status of microRNAs in dictating the resistance/sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In addition, we have discussed various strategies to increase radiosensitivity, including targeted therapy, and the use of miRNAs as radiosensitive/radioresistance biomarkers for esophageal cancer in the clinical setting.

中文翻译：

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食管癌中miRNA的稳定化会增加放射线抵抗力，并限制治疗效果。

食道癌患者的五年生存率不到20％。这可能是由于肿瘤细胞对化学疗法/放射疗法的抗性增加（获得性或内在性的），通常是由于异常的细胞周期，细胞凋亡失调，生长因子信号传导途径的增加和/或蛋白质组网络的变化引起的。此外，非编码RNA介导的信号通路中的失调可能会导致对治疗的耐药性。在分子水平上，这些抗性因子现已与各种microRNA（miRNA）相关联，最近已证明它们可控制细胞的发育，分化和瘤形成。miRNA的增加的稳定性和表达失调与多种癌症（包括食道癌）对各种疗法的抗性增加有关。所以，miRNA代表了具有巨大潜力的下一代分子，这些分子可用作生物标志物和治疗靶标。但是，有关基于miRNA的治疗性干预的详细研究仍处于起步阶段。因此，在这篇综述中，我们总结了microRNA在指示肿瘤细胞对化学疗法和放射疗法的抗性/敏感性中的当前状态。此外，我们已经讨论了各种提高放射敏感性的策略，包括靶向治疗，以及在临床环境中将miRNA用作食管癌的放射敏感性/放射电阻生物标志物。我们已经总结了microRNA在指示肿瘤细胞对化学疗法和放射疗法的抗性/敏感性方面的现状。此外，我们已经讨论了各种提高放射敏感性的策略，包括靶向治疗，以及在临床环境中将miRNA用作食管癌的放射敏感性/放射电阻生物标志物。我们已经总结了microRNA在指示肿瘤细胞对化学疗法和放射疗法的抗性/敏感性方面的现状。此外，我们已经讨论了各种提高放射敏感性的策略，包括靶向治疗，以及在临床环境中将miRNA用作食管癌的放射敏感性/放射电阻生物标志物。