The expression profiling of serum circPHLPP2 and LncRNA ILF3 in colorectal cancer patients

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a major cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, highlighting the need for new non-invasive biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis. This study explored the expression of two non-coding RNAs, circular RNA PHLPP2 (circPHLPP2) and long non-coding RNA ILF3-AS1 (lncRNA ILF3-AS1), in CRC patients and assessed their clinical significance. A total of 220 participants were enrolled, including 130 CRC patients (grouped by cancer stage) and 90 healthy individuals. Serum levels of circPHLPP2 and lncRNA ILF3-AS1 were measured using real-time PCR, and traditional tumor markers CEA and CA19-9 were evaluated by immunoassay. Both non-coding RNAs were significantly elevated in CRC patients and showed a progressive increase across cancer stages, reaching the highest levels in metastatic cases. Diagnostic analysis revealed that circPHLPP2 and lncRNA ILF3-AS1 had stronger diagnostic performance than conventional markers. Furthermore, lncRNA ILF3-AS1 was identified as an independent predictor of metastatic CRC. These findings suggest that circPHLPP2 and lncRNA ILF3-AS1 could serve as promising biomarkers for the diagnosis and staging of CRC.