Circular RNA_0001946 is insufficiently expressed in tumor tissues, while its higher expression correlates with less lymph node metastasis, lower TNM stage, and improved prognosis in NSCLC patients

OBJECTIVE: Circular RNA_0001946 (circ_0001946) inhibits tumor progression but promotes chemosensitivity in non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC); however, its correlation with tumor features and prognosis in NSCLC patients is still unclear; therefore, this study aimed to investigate these issues. METHODS: A total of 284 NSCLC patients were retrospectively analyzed. Circ_0001946 expression in tumor (n = 284) and adjacent (n = 125) tissues was detected by the reverse transcription‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Meanwhile, patients’ clinical characteristics, recurrence, and survival data were extracted from the electrical database. RESULTS: Circ_0001946 expression in adjacent tissues was over 3‐folds as that in tumor tissues (P < .001). Meanwhile, higher tumor circ_0001946 expression was correlated with less lymph node metastasis (P < .001) and decreased TNM stage (P = .001), but did not correlate with other clinicopathological features. Moreover, higher tumor circ_0001946 expression was associated with prolonged disease‐free survival (DFS) (P < .001) and overall survival (OS) (P < .001), respectively. Subgroup analyses revealed that higher tumor circ_0001946 was correlated with improved DFS in patients with TNM stage I, II, or III, respectively (all P < .05), while only correlated with prolonged OS in patients with TNM stage III (P = .037), but not in patients with TNM stage I or II. Further multivariate Cox's proportional hazard regression analyses suggested that higher tumor circ_0001946 expression could independently predict improved DFS (P < .001, hazard ratio (HR) = 0.719) and OS (P < .001, HR = 0.746), respectively. CONCLUSION: Circ_0001946 is insufficiently expressed in tumor tissues, whereas its higher expression correlates with less lymph node metastasis, reduced TNM stage, and improved prognosis in NSCLC patients.