Deciphering the Roles of CircRNAs on Hepatic Metastases in Early Tumor Stage Colorectal Cancer Patients

Objective: Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a specific type of non-coding RNAs, could regulate tumorigenesis and metastasis of various cancers though acting as competing endogenous RNA (ceRNAs). Methods Performing next generation sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatics methods, the profiles and the intricate roles of circRNAs were clarified in early stage colorectal cancer patients with hepatic metastases. Results CircRNAs were predicted to be involved in CRC hepatic metastasis complex processes, such as p53 binding and ErbB excision repair. Intriguingly, we detected 19 significantly differentially expressed among CRC patients with or without hepatic metastases and found circFARSA was significantly upregulated. Besides, circFARSA was found to be potential ceRNAs and a triple regulatory network of circFARSA/hsa-miR-503-5p/CCND2 was set up, which describes the possible mechanisms of CRC hepatic metastasis. Conclusions Our findings demonstrated that circFARSA acts as a promising biomarker in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The study provided a new perspective for targeting circFARSA in mCRC therapeutic treatment.