Correlation Analysis of circRNA Circ_0071662 in Diagnosis and Prognosis of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

CircRNA mannosidase alpha class 1A member 2 promotes esophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression by regulating C-C chemokine ligand 5

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common malignancy with high morbidity and mortality. Although circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in various cancers including ESCC, the role of the circRNA mannosidase alpha class 1A member 2 (circMAN1A2) in ESCC has been rarely studied. This study aimed to explore the role of circMAN1A2 in ESCC. CircMAN1A2 expression in ESCC tissues and cells was evaluated, and the relationship between circMAN1A2 expression and prognosis in patients with ESCC was analyzed. C-C chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) was found to be a downstream target of circMAN1A2 by analysing the Agilent Microarray. Next, we performed in vitro and in vivo xenotransplantation assays to explore the role of circMAN1A2 in ESCC. We observed that high circMAN1A2 expression is associated with poor prognosis in patients with ESCC. Suppression of circMAN1A2 expression inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasiveness of ESCC via regulating CCL5. Our results suggest that circMAN1A2 can promote the progression of ESCC by regulating CCL5. Thus, circMAN1A2 might be a novel diagnostic biomarker of ESCC, and targeting circMAN1A2 using inhibitors could be a potential therapeutic strategy to treat ESCC.

Effect of the Age-Adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index on the Survival of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients after Radical Esophagectomy

We aimed to investigate whether the age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (ACCI) can predict the postoperative overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. Between 1 July 2015 and 31 July 2021, a retrospective cohort study was conducted among patients with primary ESCC who underwent radical esophagectomy. A total of 352 patients were included, with median age of 63.00 (IQR (interquartile range) 56.00-68.00). The patients were divided into low (n = 300) and high (n = 52) ACCI groups based on the optimal cut-off value of 5 points. Chronic pulmonary disease (38.4%) was the most common comorbidity. The results of the multivariate Cox regression showed that the ACCI (HR = 1.63, 95%CI: 1.04-2.56), tumor size (HR = 1.67, 95%CI: 1.05-2.66), pTNM (II vs. I, HR = 4.74, 95%CI: 1.82-12.32; III vs. I, HR = 6.08, 95%CI: 2.37-15.60), and postoperative chemotherapy (HR = 0.60, 95%CI: 0.40-0.91) were significantly associated with the OS. Furthermore, the ACCI, tumor size, pTNM, and postoperative chemotherapy were also significantly associated with the CSS. Interactions were identified between the ACCI and postoperative chemotherapy, pTNM stage, and tumor size in relation to the OS and CSS. In conclusion, the ACCI may be an independent prognostic factor affecting the long-term prognosis of patients after radical esophagectomy.

Current advances and future perspectives on the functional roles and clinical implications of circular RNAs in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: more influential than expected

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most aggressive gastrointestinal cancers with high incidence and mortality. Therefore, it is necessary to identify novel sensitive and specific biomarkers for ESCC detection and treatment. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a type of noncoding RNAs featured by their covalently closed circular structure. This special structure makes circRNAs more stable in mammalian cells, coupled with their great abundance and tissue specificity, suggesting circRNAs may present enormous potential to be explored as valuable prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers for tumor. Mounting studies verified the critical roles of circRNAs in regulating ESCC cells malignant behaviors. Here, we summarized the current progresses in a handful of aberrantly expressed circRNAs, and elucidated their biological function and clinical significance in ESCC, and introduced a series of databases for circRNA research. With the improved advancement in high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics technique, new frontiers of circRNAs will pave the path for the development of precision treatment in ESCC.