Circular RNA has_circ_0067934 is upregulated in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and promoted proliferation

Abstract

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most prevalent and deadly types of cancer worldwide especially in Eastern Asia and the prognosis of ESCC remain poor. Recent evidence suggests that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in multiple diseases, including cancer. In this study, we characterized a novel circRNA termed hsa_circ_0067934 in ESCC tumor tissues and cell lines. We analyzed a cohort of 51 patients and found that hsa_circ_0067934 was significantly overexpressed in ESCC tissues compared with paired adjacent normal tissues. The high expression level of hsa_circ_0067934 was associated with poor differentiation (P = 0.025), I-II T stage (P = 0.04), and I-II TNM stage (P = 0.021). The in vitro silence of hsa_circ_0067934 by siRNA inhibited the proliferation and migration of ESCC cells and blocked cell cycle progression. Cell fraction analyses and fluorescence in situ hybridization detected that hsa_circ_0067934 was mostly located in the cytoplasm. Our findings suggest that hsa_circ_0067934 is upregulated in ESCC tumor tissue. Our data suggest that hsa_circ_0067934 represents a novel potential biomarker and therapeutic target of ESCC.