Consistent with these, we found MSA could up-regulate miR-146a at a dose- and time-dependent manner in ESCC cells; when we inhibited miR-146a with antagomir-146a, MSA-induced EGFR decrease was partly reverted, indicating that MSA-induced EGFR down-regualtion was dependent on miR-146a. This evidence concerns the gene EGFR and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.