Advanced Research on MicroRNAs and EGFR-TKIs Secondary Resistance

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Several molecular pathways underlying mechanisms of this disease have been partly elucidated, among which the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway is one of the well-known signaling cascades that plays a critical role in tumorigenesis. The strategies to effectively inhibit EGFR signaling pathway have been used in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) targeted therapy. Patients with EGFR mutations benefit from EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) treatment. However, most of TKIs-treated patients eventually suffer drug resistant after 10-month treatments. MiRNAs (microRNAs) is a non coding RNA and protein involved in regulating gene expression in the transcription level. More and more studies have found that miRNAs are correlated with EGFR-TKIs secondary resistance. MiRNAs may serve as novel targets to circumvent the resistance and promising predictive biomarkers for EGFR-TKIs. In this paper, we reviewed briefly advanced research on miRNAs and EGFR-TKIs secondary resistance in NSCLC.