Therapeutic importance and diagnostic function of circRNAs in urological cancers: from metastasis to drug resistance

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a member of non-coding RNAs with no ability in encoding proteins and their aberrant dysregulation is observed in cancers. Their closed-loop structure has increased their stability, and they are reliable biomarkers for cancer diagnosis. Urological cancers have been respon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cancer and metastasis reviews 2024-09, Vol.43 (3), p.867-888
Main Authors: Zhang, Zhibin, Gao, Zhixu, Fang, Huimin, Zhao, Yutang, Xing, Rong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apoptosis
Autophagy
Biomarkers
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Cancer
Cancer Research
Cell growth
Circular RNA
Diagnosis
Drug resistance
Exosomes
Gene therapy
Macrophages
Medical diagnosis
Medical prognosis
Metastases
Metastasis
Morbidity
Mortality
Oncology
Proteins
Review
Tumor microenvironment
Urological cancer
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Summary:Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a member of non-coding RNAs with no ability in encoding proteins and their aberrant dysregulation is observed in cancers. Their closed-loop structure has increased their stability, and they are reliable biomarkers for cancer diagnosis. Urological cancers have been responsible for high mortality and morbidity worldwide, and developing new strategies in their treatment, especially based on gene therapy, is of importance since these malignant diseases do not respond to conventional therapies. In the current review, three important aims are followed. At the first step, the role of circRNAs in increasing or decreasing the progression of urological cancers is discussed, and the double-edged sword function of them is also highlighted. At the second step, the interaction of circRNAs with molecular targets responsible for urological cancer progression is discussed, and their impact on molecular processes such as apoptosis, autophagy, EMT, and MMPs is highlighted. Finally, the use of circRNAs as biomarkers in the diagnosis and prognosis of urological cancer patients is discussed to translate current findings in the clinic for better treatment of patients. Furthermore, since circRNAs can be transferred to tumor via exosomes and the interactions in tumor microenvironment provided by exosomes such as between macrophages and cancer cells is of importance in cancer progression, a separate section has been devoted to the role of exosomal circRNAs in urological tumors. Graphical abstract
ISSN:0167-7659
1573-7233
1573-7233
DOI:10.1007/s10555-023-10152-9