Advances in Circular RNAs and Their Roles in Gastric Cancer

Yang Ping^1,2, Ni Chao^1,2, Chen Si¹, Ye Meng^1*, Guo Junming^2*

¹Department of Medical Oncology, the Affiliated Hospital, Ningbo University School of Medicine, Ningbo 315020, China; ²Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Ningbo University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Pathophysiology, Ningbo 315211, China

Abstract: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are special RNAs with a closed loop structure. Though known as non-coding RNAs， some of them are able to translate proteins directly. Because of their characteristics of wide distribution， conservative sequence， stable property， temporal and spatial expression， and so on， it is very likely that circRNAs will be novel biomarkers and targets for the diagnosis， or prognosis of diseases， and new targets of treatment. Gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the world， and the third leading cause of death among cancer patients. In general， incidence rates are highest in China. Each year， the number of new cases of gastric cancer in China accounts for nearly half of the world. There is no simple and effective method for early screening of gastric cancer at present. Therefore， the fight against gastric cancer is very grim in China. In this article， we summarized recent progress of circRNAs and their roles in gastric cancer.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2017.12.0017