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Novel circRNA signatures in cervical cancer: implications for early detection and screening
Michael Zhong1, Josephine Peitz1,2, Michelle Newman1
1Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Introduction:
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are emerging as potential biomarkers due to their role in gene regulation. We explored whether specific circRNAs could serve as biomarkers for cervical cancer screening by distinguishing between different stages of cervical disease.
Areas Covered:
We analyzed circRNA expression from archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded cervical tissues obtained from 272 women, of which 36% were benign, 33% were precancerous and 31% were cancerous. We performed differential expression analysis using DESeq2 to identify circRNAs that showed log2 fold change ≥2.
Expert Opinion/Commentary:
We identified 5790 statistically significant circRNAs that were differentially expressed between benign and cancerous cervical tissues; circ_0123115 (log2FC = 5.10, p = 1.66 × 10-55), associated with FGF12, was the most significant. Comparing benign to precancerous tissues, we found 1439 circRNAs with statistically significant differential expression, with circ_0100775 (log2FC = 2.13, p = 1.38 × 10-18), associated with TDRD3, being the most significant. Between precancerous and cancerous tissues, 4915 circRNAs were differentially expressed with statistical significance; circ_0006038 (log2FC = 4.74, p = 1.22 × 10-40), associated with STXBP6, was the most significant. In a three-way comparison, 57,749 circRNAs were differentially expressed, with circ_0106394 (p = 3.02 × 10-21), associated with USP22, being the most significant. Our study identified circRNAs with significant differential expression across benign, precancerous, and cancerous cervical tissues, demonstrating their potential role in cervical cancer progression.
