MITF and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: Prior studies in melanoma have identified several miRNAs that are involved in melanoma progression.28,29 The inhibitory effect of miR-26a has been observed in gallbladder cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, esophageal squamous cell cancer, and melanoma.9,12,13,28 Our study reported for the first time that, in malignant melanoma cells, miR-26a directly targets on MITF, which is a master regulator of melanocytes and sustains the cell viability.29 Therefore, miR-26a may be used to as a novel therapeutic small molecule against human malignant melanoma, possibly by regulating the expression of MITF.