Circular RNAs: emerging cancer biomarkers and targets

Yu Zhang,
Wei Liang,
Peng Zhang,
Jingyan Chen,
Hui Qian,
Xu ZhangEmail author and
Wenrong XuEmail author

Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research201736:152

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13046-017-0624-z

Received: 12 July 2017

Accepted: 19 October 2017

Published: 2 November 2017

Abstract

CircRNAs are a class of RNA molecules that structurally form closed loops. CircRNAs are abundant in eukaryotic transcripts and show certain levels of tissue and cell specificity. CircRNAs have been suggested to regulate gene expression at transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and translational levels. An increasing number of studies have shown that circRNAs play important roles in the development and progression of diseases including cancer. In particular, circRNAs have shown great potential in cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy. In this review, we provide an overview of the biogenesis and characteristics of circRNAs, succinctly describe their functions, and comprehensively discuss about the recent advances in the roles of circRNAs in cancer with an emphasis on their clinical values.