Objective By summarizing the latest research progress of circRNA translation mechanism and reviewing the research progress of circRNA translation in various digestive system tumors, this paper is aiming to forecast the clinical application prospect of circular RNA translation and provide ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of digestive system neoplasms. Method The literatures on the translation of circRNA and its role in digestive system neoplasms were searched and reviewed. Results As a member of the non-coding RNA family, circRNAs are generally considered to be difficult to encode proteins as translation templates. With the rapid development of bioinformatics, next-generation sequencing, proteomics and translation omics, it has been found that many kinds of circRNAs can encode proteins or peptides in a cap-independent manner and play a critical role in the development of digestive system neoplasms, including gastric cancer, liver cancer and colorectal cancer. Conclusions The translation function of circRNA plays an important role in the development and progression of digestive system tumors, and its translation products may become new diagnostic or therapeutic targets for digestive system tumors, with great clinical transformation potential.
