Exosomal circRNAs: Novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for gastrointestinal tumors

Despite the high prevalence of gastrointestinal tumors, early diagnosis and treatment of these tumors is limited by the lack of effective and specific biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Exosomes carry active molecules to mediate cell-to-cell communication, especially in the tumor microenvironment, and are promising biomarkers and therapeutic targets for cancer. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are stably enriched in exosomes and show a unique circular structure, high stability, conservation, and tissue specificity. Exosomal circRNAs play important roles in regulating cell proliferation, metastasis, angiogenesis, metabolism, and the immune microenvironment of gastrointestinal tumors and exhibit great potential as tumor biomarkers and anti-tumor targets or tools. This review briefly introduces the characteristics and functions of circRNAs and exosomes, and systematically describes the biological roles and mechanisms of exosomal circRNAs in gastrointestinal tumors. This article also summarizes the detection methodology of exosomal circRNAs and discusses their clinical significance as biomarkers and targets for gastrointestinal tumors.