REVIEW article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Head and Neck Cancer
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1692671
CricRNA in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Biological Functions and Clinical Prospects
Provisionally accepted
- Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a prevalent malignant tumor globally, shows a unfavorable prognosis and has a five - year survival rate lower than 50%. Circular RNA (circRNA) is defined as a type of non-coding RNA molecule that forms a covalently closed circular structure through back-splicing, characterized by tissue specificity, high stability, and stability in body fluid detection. Recent research has frequently revealed marked alterations in circRNA regulation in HNSCC and participates in tumor malignant behaviors such as cell proliferation and apoptosis, invasion and metastasis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), chemoresistance, and immune evasion through mechanisms like "miRNA sponges," protein scaffolding, translation templates, and epigenetic regulation. This review aims to provide a systematic and up-to-date consolidation of the latest advances in circRNA research for HNSCC, from its biogenesis and multifaceted functions to clinical translation.Our goal is to uncover novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for the precise diagnosis and management of HNSCC. This review not only aids in elucidating the complex regulatory networks orchestrated by circRNAs in HNSCC but also highlights their immense potential as novel diagnostic and therapeutic agents, thereby paving the way for future research and clinical application.
Keywords: circular RNA, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, biomarker, tumor progression, non-coding RNA, Therapeutic target, translational medicine
Received: 26 Aug 2025; Accepted: 09 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Anqi Li, 2543779712@qq.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.