Open Access

REVIEW

Circular RNAs in breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and prognosis

by XIAOJIA HUANG^1,#, CAILU SONG^2,#, JINHUI ZHANG², LEWEI ZHU^3,*, HAILIN TANG^2,*

1 Department of Breast Oncology Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital & Institute of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510095, China
2 State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China
3 Department of Breast Surgery, The First People’s Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, 528000, China

* Corresponding Authors: LEWEI ZHU. Email: ; HAILIN TANG. Email:
# These authors contributed equally to this work

Oncology Research 2024, 32(2), 241-249. https://doi.org/10.32604/or.2023.046582

Received 08 October 2023; Accepted 06 November 2023; Issue published 28 December 2023

Abstract

Breast cancer has surpassed lung cancer to become the most common malignancy worldwide. The incidence rate and mortality rate of breast cancer continue to rise, which leads to a great burden on public health. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a new class of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), have been recognized as important oncogenes or suppressors in regulating cancer initiation and progression. In breast cancer, circRNAs have significant roles in tumorigenesis, recurrence and multidrug resistance that are mediated by various mechanisms. Therefore, circRNAs may serve as promising targets of therapeutic strategies for breast cancer management. This study reviews the most recent studies about the biosynthesis and characteristics of circRNAs in diagnosis, treatment and prognosis evaluation, as well as the value of circRNAs in clinical applications as biomarkers or therapeutic targets in breast cancer. Understanding the mechanisms by which circRNAs function could help transform basic research into clinical applications and facilitate the development of novel circRNA-based therapeutic strategies for breast cancer treatment.

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Keywords

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