title: MicroRNA-34b has an oncogenic role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common malignancy and one of the more difficult diseases to diagnose in Japan due to its poor prognosis. MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs of 21-23 nucleotides that regulate gene expression. MicroRNA-34b (miR-34b) has been reported to be overexpressed in various types of cancer. However, its role in ESCC has yet to be extensively studied. The present study investigated the expression of miR-34b in 88 ESCC patients. The miR-34b expression in ESCC was significantly higher than that in the corresponding normal esophageal mucosa. It was more highly expressed in tumors with more advanced stages. However, its expression did not correlate with the p53 status. Transfection of anti-miR-34b to the ESCC cells suppressed cell growth in vitro. These results suggest an oncogenic role of miR in ESCC.
authors.affiliation: Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Oncology, Immunology and Surgery, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan.
authors.forename: Koshiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harata
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishiguro
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuwabara
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mitsui
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Takeyasu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Katada
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Midori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shiozaki
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujii