Extrachromosomal Circular DNA Amplification Contributes to Gene Expression and Disease Relapse in Colorectal Cancer

Extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) are circular DNA molecules originating from chromosomal DNA but existing independently. While large eccDNA (ecDNA) contributes to tumorigenesis, the role of smaller eccDNA (<100,000 base pairs) in cancer remains unclear. Our analysis of 25 colorectal cancer (CRC) tumors and adjacent non-tumorous tissues revealed that eccDNA is significantly more abundant in tumor tissues, correlating strongly with cancer relapse and chromosomal amplifications. Importantly,