Circular RNAs in laryngeal cancer

•CircRNAs play crucial roles in laryngeal cancer progression, serving as regulators of gene expression through mechanisms such as miRNA sponging and protein interactions.•Several circRNAs show promise as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for laryngeal cancer, with potential for non-invasive detection in body fluids.•Targeting oncogenic circRNAs or restoring tumor-suppressive circRNAs presents novel therapeutic opportunities for laryngeal cancer treatment.•Challenges in translating circRNA research to clinical applications include developing effective delivery systems, ensuring targeting specificity, and understanding complex regulatory networks. Laryngeal cancer remains a significant global health concern, with poor prognosis for advanced-stage disease highlighting the need for novel diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic approaches. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a class of covalently closed non-coding RNAs, have emerged as important regulators of gene expression and cellular processes in various cancers, including laryngeal cancer. This review summarizes the current understanding of circRNAs in laryngeal cancer, covering their biogenesis, regulatory mechanisms, and potential clinical applications. We explore the diverse functions of circRNAs, including their roles as miRNA sponges, protein interactors, and direct mRNA regulators, and their influence on key cellular processes such as proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. The review highlights promising circRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, as well as potential therapeutic targets. We also outline current strategies for circRNA modulation, including suppression techniques like RNA interference and CRISPR/Cas systems, and overexpression methods using vectors and synthetic circRNAs.