Circ₀004592: An auxiliary diagnostic biomarker for gastric cancer

BACKGROUND Gastric cancer (GC) has a high mortality rate, and robust diagnostic biomarkers are currently lacking. However, the clinical relevance of circular RNAs (circRNAs) as GC biomarkers remains largely unexplored. AIM To evaluate the potential of novel circRNA circ₀004592 in the early screening and prognosis of GC. METHODS High-throughput sequencing of circRNAs was performed to screen for potential target molecules. Circ₀004592 expression was examined in GC tissues, cells, and plasma. Plasma samples were collected from healthy subjects’ patients, as well as from patients with benign lesions, precancerous lesions, and GC, whereafter the diagnostic accuracy of circ₀004592 was evaluated. The correlation between circ₀004592 levels in plasma and clinicopathological data of patients with GC was further analyzed. RESULTS Circ₀004592 was upregulated in both the tissue and plasma of patients with GC. Further, circ₀004592 expression was higher in patients with precancerous lesions than in healthy controls while being highest in patients with GC. In the same patient, the postoperative plasma level of circ₀004592 was lower than that in the preoperative period. Moreover, circ₀004592 level was significantly correlated with tumor differentiation, tumor depth, and lymph node metastasis. The area under the curve (AUC) of plasma circ₀004592 exhibited high sensitivity and specificity for differentiating patients with GC from healthy donors. Diagnosis based on circ₀004592, carcinoembryonic antigen, and cancer antigen 199 achieved a superior AUC and was highly sensitive. CONCLUSION Plasma circ₀004592 may represent a potential non-invasive auxiliary diagnostic biomarker for patients with GC.