A circRNA signature predicts postoperative recurrence in stage II/III colon cancer

Abstract

Accurate risk stratification for patients with stage II/III colon cancer is pivotal for postoperative treatment decisions. Here, we aimed to identify and validate a circRNA‐based signature that could improve postoperative prognostic stratification for these patients. In current retrospective analysis, we included 667 patients with R0 resected stage II/III colon cancer. Using RNA‐seq analysis of 20 paired frozen tissues collected postoperation, we profiled differential circRNA expression between patients with and without recurrence, followed by quantitative validation. With clinical information, we generated a four‐circRNA‐based cirScore to classify patients into high‐risk and low‐risk groups in the training cohort. The patients with high cirScores in the training cohort had a shorter disease‐free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) than patients with low cirScores. The prognostic capacity of the classifier was validated in the internal and external cohorts. Loss‐of‐function assays indicated that the selected circRNAs played functional roles in colon cancer progression. Overall, our four‐circRNA‐based classifier is a reliable prognostic tool for postoperative disease recurrence in patients with stage II/III colon cancer.

A Novel Circular RNA circ-LRIG3 Facilitates the Malignant Progression of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Modulating the EZH2/STAT3 Signaling

“…Because of its special covalent ring structure resisting to exonuclease, circRNA is extraordinary stable, enabling it to be used as an excellent disease marker [22][23][24]. For instance, a recent study performed the RNA-seq analysis of 20 paired frozen tissues collected postoperation, and found that four-circRNAs (hsa_circ_0122319, hsa_circ_0087391, hsa_circ_0079480 and hsa_circ_0008039)-based cirScore could reliably predict postoperative recurrence in stage II/III colon cancer [25]. Besides, circ-ANKS1B was reported to be signi cantly upregulated in triple-negative breast cancer, and it was a high risk predictor of breast cancer metastasis [26].…”

Identification of downregulated circRNAs from tissue and plasma of patients with gastric cancer and construction of a circRNA‐miRNA‐mRNA network

“…No significant effect was found for NR3C1. 19 cancer progression, 20 cancer recurrence, 21 and metastasis. 22 Although, the exact mechanism of circRNAs in malignancies is still unknown, studies of circRNAs as a biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment malignancies have increased.…”

Novel circular RNA hsa_circ_0077837 suppresses colorectal cancer cell proliferation by regulating the microRNA 21/phosphatase and tensin homolog axis

“…We analyzed 563 differentially expressed circRNAs in CRC and adjacent normal tissues based on previous studies [14,15] and found that circEPB41L2 was the most significantly downregulated circRNA ( Fig. 1A).…”

“…The present study analyzed the RNA sequencing data available from previous publications [14,15] and found that a novel circRNA, hsa_circ_0077837 (circEPB41L2), was dramatically deregulated in CRC tumors. It was further determined that the enhanced expression of circEPB41L2 suppressed the proliferation ability of CRC cells.…”