Dysregulated circ_0004913, circ_0008160, circ_0000517, and their potential as biomarkers for disease monitoring and prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Objective: Circular RNA_0004913 (circ_0004913), circular RNA_0008160 (circ_0008160), and circular RNA_0000517 (circ_0000517) are shown to be dysregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines, and also show potential in regulating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) pathogenesis. This current study attempted to find possible associations of circ_0004913, circ_0008160, and circ_0000517 with clinical features and prognosis of HCC patients.Methods: A hundred and fifty HCC patients who received hepatectomy were retrospectively reviewed, and their resected specimens including tumor tissues and paired adjacent tissues were obtained, in which the circ_0004913, circ_0008160, and circ_0000517 expressions were detected. Overall survival (OS) data were collected according to the clinical visit records.Results: Circ_0004913 (p < 0.001) and circ_0008160 (p < 0.001) were downregulated, while circ_0000517 (p < 0.001) was upregulated in tumor tissue compared with paired adjacent tissue. Additionally, tumor circ_0004913 was negatively associated with largest tumor size (p = 0.009) and Barcelona clinic liver cancer (BCLC) stage (p = 0.020), while tumor circ_0008160 and circ_0000517 were not correlated with any clinicopathological features of HCC patients (all p > 0.05). Tumor circ_0004913 high expression was associated with prolonged OS in total HCC patients (p = 0.008) and in subgroup of patients with largest tumor size <5 cm (p = 0.008). Tumor circ_0008160 high expression was correlated with longer OS in patients with BCLC stage B (p = 0.026). Univariate Cox's analysis disclosed that tumor circ_0004913 high expression was correlated with longer OS; while after adjustment by multivariate Cox's analysis, it failed to predict OS independently. Conclusion:Circ_0004913 was downregulated in tumor tissue and may serve as a biomarker for evaluating disease severity and prognosis in HCC patients.

circCORO1C promotes the proliferation and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma by enhancing the expression of PD‐L1 through NF‐κB pathway

“…With the continuous deepening of the research, we have found that circRNA is closely related to the occurrence and development of a variety of cancers, which further suggests that it is expected to become a new biomarker and therapeutic target. 12 , 13 In this study, we identified that the expression of circCORO1C in HCC tissues and cells was abnormally increased. In addition, in vivo and in vitro functional experiments have proved that high expression of circCORO1C can promote the malignant phenotype of HCC.…”

Review of novel functions and implications of circular RNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma

“…Li’s study investigated 150 HCC patient tissues after surgery and found circ_0004913 and circ_0008160 to be down-regulated but circ_0000517 up-regulated in HCC tissue. Further studies found that increased expression of circ_0004913 is negatively related to largest tumor size and correlated with longer OS and that it might act as a monitoring and prognostic biomarker for HCC ( 116 ). Therefore, a single circRNA has been demonstrated to have excellent performance in HCC diagnosis and prognosis, yet the combination of several circRNAs performs significantly better.…”

Hsa_circ_0001806 promotes glycolysis and cell progression in hepatocellular carcinoma through miR‐125b/HK2

“… 21 Another study presented that circ_0004913 was dysregulated during HCC progression and the alteration of circ_0004913 could be used as an evaluation factor for HCC severity and prognosis. 22 Liu et al demonstrated the down‐regulation of circ_5692 in HCC tissues and cells, and circ_5692 overexpression inhibited malignance of HCC cells and the tumour growth of HCC xenograft mouse model. 23 …”