Tumor-suppressive circRNAs in colorectal cancer spheroids and patients

This study identifies hsa_circ_0039776 and hsa_circ_0067353 as novel tumor-suppressive circRNAs exhibiting reduced expression in colorectal cancer spheroids and metastatic lesions. The constructed circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network indicates that these circRNAs modulate oncogenic miRNAs (hsa-miR-614, hsa-miR-645, hsa-miR-4689) and their downstream tumor-suppressive targets (CCL5, INSC, SLC9A1, SLC34A1), which correlate with favorable survival outcomes and influence cancer stemness. These results contribute to a deeper comprehension of the role of circRNAs in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer and underscore their potential utility as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.