Circular RNAs in Cancer

Dear Colleagues,

Current analyses of the human transcriptome indicate that a mere 2% of the genome corresponds to protein coding transcripts, yet it is estimated that ~ 70%–90% of the genome is transcribed. In effect, this means that the majority of RNA found in a cell is noncoding. Within these noncoding RNAs (or ncRNAs), a variety of subtypes have been identified. One of these ncRNAs called circular RNAs, originally identified as early as 1991, was often dismissed as an artifact of splicing but has now been identified as playing a critical role in many processes, including cancer.

Aberrant expression of circRNAs is common in cancer, where the majority of these circRNAs can affect the regulation of critical tumor suppressors through competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) mediated effects, often by acting as “molecular sponges” to limit miRNA availability and affect growth. A common altered pathway affected by circRNAs is epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), a key element in carcinogenesis.

circRNAs were originally considered to be noncoding RNAs, but recent studies have shown that a subset of these may in fact encode peptides, which can affect the stability of critical proteins, resulting in altered cellular proliferation, migration, and invasion.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to bring together a series of articles (both reviews and original research) related to circular RNAs with respect to our knowledge of their roles in cancer carcinogenesis, cancer pathology, and cancer etiology.

Dr. Steven G. Gray
Dr. Ruby Lin
Guest Editors

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