A circRNA signature predicts postoperative recurrence in stage II/III colon cancer

Accurate risk stratification for patients with stage II/III colon cancer is pivotal for postoperative treatment decisions. Here, we aimed to identify and validate a circRNA-based signature that could improve postoperative prognostic stratification for these patients. In current retrospective analysis, we included 667 patients with R0 resected stage II/III colon cancer. Using RNA-seq analysis of 20 paired frozen tissues collected postoperation, we profiled differential circRNA expression between patients with and without recurrence, followed by quantitative validation. With clinical information, we generated a four-circRNA-based cirScore to classify patients into high-risk and low-risk groups in the training cohort. The patients with high cirScores in the training cohort had a shorter disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) than patients with low cirScores. The prognostic capacity of the classifier was validated in the internal and external cohorts. Loss-of-function assays indicated that the selected circRNAs played functional roles in colon cancer progression. Overall, our four-circRNA-based classifier is a reliable prognostic tool for postoperative disease recurrence in patients with stage II/III colon cancer.