[Progress in the studies of circular RNA in prostate cancer]

Prostate cancer (PCa) has become one of the most common malignancies in men, and its incidence is increasing year by year in China. When PCa develops into castration-resistant PCa (CRPC), it deteriorates rapidly. So, it is important to find more sensitive molecular markers and effective therapeutic targets for the diagnosis and treatment of the malignancy. Circular RNA (circRNA) is a covalently closed loop non-coding RNA formed by reverse splicing, playing an important regulatory role in a variety of tumors. In recent years, many studies show that circRNA is involved in the regulation of PCa as miRNA sponge, binding with the RNA binding protein and other molecular sponges, and may be a potential molecular marker and therapeutic target for PCa. This review summarizes the advances in recent studies of circRNA in the development and progression of PCa, CRPC, and radiation-resistant PCa.