TY - JOUR T1 - Current research on circular RNAs and their potential clinical implications in breast cancer JF - Cancer Biology and Medicine JO - Cancer Biol Med SP - 635 LP - 648 DO - 10.20892/j.issn.2095-3941.2020.0275 VL - 18 IS - 3 AU - Diya Liu AU - Lin Fang Y1 - 2021/08/01 UR - http://www.cancerbiomed.org/content/18/3/635.abstract N2 - Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common cancers and the leading causes of death among women worldwide, and its morbidity rate is growing. Discovery of novel biomarkers is necessary for early BC detection, treatment, and prognostication. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a novel type of endogenous non-coding RNAs with covalently closed continuous loops, have been found to have a crucial role in tumorigenesis. Studies have demonstrated that circRNAs are aberrantly expressed in the tumor tissues and plasma of patients with BC, and they modulate gene expression affecting the proliferation, metastasis, and chemoresistance of BC by specifically binding and regulating the expression of microRNAs (miRNAs). Therefore, circRNAs can be used as novel potential diagnostic and prognostic markers, and therapeutic targets for BC. This article summarizes the properties, functions, and regulatory mechanisms of circRNAs, particularly current research on their association with BC proliferation, metastasis, and chemoresistance. ER -