Evidence mapPaperPMID 41915211Full record

ReviewCancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII2026

Circular RNAs in cancer: Its biogenesis, functions, relationships with cancer progression, applications in immunotherapy and biomarker potentials.

Yusen Gao, Lingling Xu, Ruihua Sun, Luping Gao, Peiyu Yan, Xinrong Yang, Guoliang Wang, Yanfang Xian, Jiewen Zhang, Di Zhu

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Yusen GaoSchool of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Lingling XuZhejiang MegaLife Health Technology Group Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China.
Ruihua SunDepartment of Neurology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou University People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450003, Henan, China.
Luping GaoGuangxi Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Microenvironmental Regulation, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, 541004, China.
Peiyu YanFaculty of Chinese Medicine, National Key Laboratory of Mechanism and Quality of Chinese Medicines, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, 999078, China.
Xinrong YangDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery & Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, and Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Guoliang WangUniTTEC Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China.
Yanfang XianSchool of Chinese Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China. lisaxian@cuhk.edu.hk.
Jiewen ZhangDepartment of Neurology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou University People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450003, Henan, China. zhangjiewen9900@126.com.
Di ZhuDepartment of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China. zhudi@fudan.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed, single-stranded RNAs generated via backsplicing. They are highly stable and evolutionarily conserved, making them promising candidates for cancer therapy and diagnosis. CircRNAs regulate cancer progression by modulating genome instability, angiogenesis, metastasis, stemness, and chemoresistance. They do so through mechanisms including microRNA (miRNA) sponging, protein interaction, translational templating, and transcription/translation regulation. CircRNAs play a critical role in cancer immunotherapy. They modulate immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) responses and cytokine secretion to reshape the tumor immune microenvironment (TME). CircRNAs also serve as stable platforms for neoantigen-based cancer vaccines and improve in vivo chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy by replacing unstable linear mRNA. Additionally, circRNAs are potential noninvasive biomarkers due to their abundance in body fluids and differential tumor-normal expression. Despite challenges such as unclear regulatory networks, off-target effects, and inefficient delivery, this review systematically summarizes the biogenesis of circRNAs, their functional mechanisms, their roles in cancer progression, and their applications in cancer immunotherapy. The review also highlights their utility as biomarkers and future translational directions, providing a focused overview of their potential to advance cancer immunotherapy.

Indexed as

Biomarkers, TumorImmunotherapyNeoplasmsRNA, CircularAnimalsDisease ProgressionHumansRNA, Competitive EndogenousTumor MicroenvironmentBiomarkers, TumorRNA, CircularRNA, Competitive EndogenousBiomarkersCancer immunotherapyCAR-T therapyCircRNAsImmune checkpoint blockadeTumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID41915211
PMCPMC13038836

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.