Qi Xin, Chen Xingqi, Zhao Yuanchun, Chen Jiajia, Niu Beifang, Shen Bairong
School of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China.
Computer Network Information Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Front Oncol. 2022 Jul 18;12:921194. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.921194. eCollection 2022.
Gastrointestinal cancers (GICs) are high-incidence malignant tumors that seriously threaten human health around the world. Their complexity and heterogeneity make the classic staging system insufficient to guide patient management. Recently, competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) interactions that closely link the function of protein-coding RNAs with that of non-coding RNAs, such as long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and circular RNA (circRNA), has emerged as a novel molecular mechanism influencing miRNA-mediated gene regulation. Especially, ceRNA networks have proven to be powerful tools for deciphering cancer mechanisms and predicting therapeutic responses at the system level. Moreover, abnormal gene expression is one of the critical breaking events that disturb the stability of ceRNA network, highlighting the role of molecular biomarkers in optimizing cancer management and treatment. Therefore, developing prognostic signatures based on cancer-specific ceRNA network is of great significance for predicting clinical outcome or chemotherapy benefits of GIC patients. We herein introduce the current frontiers of ceRNA crosstalk in relation to their pathological implications and translational potentials in GICs, review the current researches on the prognostic signatures based on lncRNA or circRNA-mediated ceRNA networks in GICs, and highlight the translational implications of ceRNA signatures for GICs management. Furthermore, we summarize the computational approaches for establishing ceRNA network-based prognostic signatures, providing important clues for deciphering GIC biomarkers.
胃肠道癌（GICs）是全球范围内严重威胁人类健康的高发性恶性肿瘤。其复杂性和异质性使得经典分期系统不足以指导患者管理。最近，竞争性内源RNA（ceRNA）相互作用作为一种影响miRNA介导的基因调控的新型分子机制出现，它将蛋白质编码RNA的功能与非编码RNA（如长链非编码RNA（lncRNA）和环状RNA（circRNA））的功能紧密联系起来。特别是，ceRNA网络已被证明是在系统水平上解读癌症机制和预测治疗反应的有力工具。此外，基因表达异常是扰乱ceRNA网络稳定性的关键破坏事件之一，凸显了分子生物标志物在优化癌症管理和治疗中的作用。因此，基于癌症特异性ceRNA网络开发预后特征对于预测GIC患者的临床结局或化疗获益具有重要意义。我们在此介绍ceRNA相互作用的当前前沿研究，涉及其在GICs中的病理意义和转化潜力，综述目前关于基于lncRNA或circRNA介导的ceRNA网络在GICs中的预后特征的研究，并强调ceRNA特征对GICs管理的转化意义。此外，我们总结了建立基于ceRNA网络的预后特征的计算方法，为解读GIC生物标志物提供重要线索。
