Landscape of Circular RNAs in the Clinical Application of Digestive System Neoplasm

Abstract

It has been confirmed that noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) play an important role in cellular development, differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis of various carcinomas. As a member of the ncRNAs family, circular RNAs (circRNAs) are getting new research hotspots because of their newly discovered and numerous potential functions such as acting as microRNA (miRNA) sponges and binding to RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) to modulate the gene transcription. Herein, we review the current understanding of the roles of circRNAs in the clinical application of digestive system neoplasm and provide a new insight into the potential implications in the diagnosis and targeted therapy of digestive system carcinomas.