Circular RNA YAP1: a new player in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) is a frequently diagnosed malignant tumour in which cancer cells form in lining of the stomach. It represents the fourth most common cancer worldwide and the 5-year survival is 54–58% in Japan and South Korea, and below 40% in other countries (1). The poor prognosis is mainly due to the high incidence of recurrence (2). Accordingly to the US National Cancer Institute (NCI; https://www.cancer.gov), there are six standard treatments currently used in GC including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, chemo-radiation, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. GC is mostly asymptomatic until it progresses to advanced stages when it is often diagnosed (2). Hence, it comes the need to discover new cancer biomarkers for the early detection of the tumour and personalized treatments.