MicroRNA-induced drug resistance in gastric cancer

Drug resistance remains one of the major reasons of therapy failure in gastric cancer patients. Although the mechanisms of anticancer drug resistance have been broadly investigated, they have not been completely understood. Accumulating reports have recently highlighted the involvement of endogenous non-coding RNAs, known as microRNAs, in the evolution of cancer cell drug resistance. MiRNAs have been characterized as major regulators of crucial genes implicated in the chemoresistance phenotype of gastric cancer cells. MiRNA-based therapy in the future may provide a new strategy to overcome drug resistance. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the role of miRNAs in regulating drug resistance in gastric cancer and their potential to develop targeted therapies and personalized treatment for managing drug resistant gastric cancers.