Circular RNAs (
circRNAs) are a type of endogenous
non-coding RNA with multiple binding sites that specifically bind to
microRNAs (
miRNAs) and serve an important role in cellular regulatory networks. Patients exhibit varying levels of
lymphatic metastasis in a clinical setting. The present study investigated the association between
circRNAs and
lymphatic metastasis in
esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The tissue samples were divided into three groups, including early
tumor stage associated with advanced nodal stage (T1 group), advanced
tumor stage associated with early nodal stage (T2 group) and healthy esophageal epithelial tissues as the control group (C group). Gene chip analysis identified
circRNAs, and those with possible regulatory functions were validated by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis (RT-qPCR).
circRNAs containing
miRNA response element (MRE) sequences were obtained, and
circRNA/
miRNA prediction software was used to predict
miRNAs that may interact with
circRNA. A total of 12,275
circRNAs were detected, including 861 with statistically significant differences. A comparison between the T1 and C groups identified 152 upregulated
circRNAs and 431 downregulated ones, while a comparison between the T2 and C groups identified 187 upregulated and 481 downregulated
circRNAs. A T1/T2 group comparison revealed that four
circRNAs were upregulated and seven were downregulated (fold change >1.5; P<0.05). The RT-qPCR data and gene chip analysis consistently identified hsa_
circRNA_100873 as differentially expressed among the examined groups. A total of five potential MREs and complementary sequences were selected for hsa_
circRNA_100873. The results of the present study indicated that multiple differentially expressed
circRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of ESCC, and that upregulation of hsa_
circRNA_100873 may be associated with increased
lymphatic metastases in ESCC.