Khadijeh Elmizadeh

hsa_circ_0008285: Circular RNA with potential as a biomarker in ovarian cancer

Liquid biopsy has emerged as a non-invasive cancer diagnosis and prognosis tool. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have become promising biomarkers due to their stability and regulatory roles in cancer biology. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of hsa_circ_0008285 as a diagnostic biomarker for ovarian cancer (OC). 102 paired cancer and adjacent normal tissue samples, along with plasma from 98 OC patients, 42 polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO) patients, 35 endometriosis patients, and 93 healthy donors, were analyzed. Differentially expressed circRNAs were identified using Illumina HiSeq 2000 high-throughput sequencing in OC tissue samples (n = 4). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was employed to validate the expression of hsa_circ_0008285. Diagnostic efficacy and sensitivity were assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. High-throughput sequencing identified hsa_circ_0008285 as the most significantly upregulated circRNA (P = 0.000012). qRT-PCR results confirmed increased expression of hsa_circ_0008285 in OC tissues and plasma compared to healthy controls (P < 0.0001). ROC analysis demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.74 (95 % CI: 0.6567-0.8306, P < 0.0001), indicating moderate diagnostic potential. Notably, the combined detection of hsa_circ_0008285 and CA_125 improved diagnostic specificity and sensitivity. Correlation analysis revealed that hsa_circ_0008285 upregulation was associated with tumor size, differentiation, and T stage. These findings suggest that hsa_circ_0008285 holds promise as a non-invasive biomarker for the diagnosis of OC, with potential applications in clinical practice.