339
Views
26
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Review

Current research on circular RNAs associated with colorectal cancer

&
Pages 1203-1210 | Received 05 Jun 2017, Accepted 02 Aug 2017, Published online: 16 Aug 2017
 

Abstract

Representing a novel type of endogenous noncoding RNAs, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have recently gained much attention for their involvement in multiple biological processes. CircRNAs are ubiquitously expressed in eukaryotic cells and modulate gene expression by acting as sponges of microRNAs (miRNAs) or other proteins, such as RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). Due to their unique structure, circRNAs are more stable than linear RNAs. Expression profiles of circRNAs are associated with clinicopathological characteristics of colorectal cancer patients, such as differentiation, TNM classification and distant metastasis. Furthermore, circRNAs play crucial roles in multiple processes associated with malignant phenotypes, including cell proliferation/cycle, apoptosis and invasion. Improvements in RNA-sequencing methods have helped researchers to elucidate molecular interactions between circRNAs and colorectal cancer. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the features and functions of circRNAs, as well as insights into their roles in the onset and development of colorectal cancer. Combined with the reported results, the identification of circRNAs associated with colorectal cancer will certainly contribute to early detection and help to design treatment strategies for colorectal cancer. Screening for circRNAs may provide an accessible, noninvasive yet highly sensitive diagnosis for colorectal cancer. Furthermore, a better understanding of the roles of circRNAs may also provide a novel predictive feature in colorectal cancer therapy and prognosis.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicting interests (including, but not limited to, commercial, personal, political, intellectual or religious interests) to declare.

Additional information

Funding

The consulting fee for the review was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91129716, to Xiaodong He).

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.