On the contrary, oe circ-FBXW7 down-regulated the mRNA and protein levels of NEK2 and mTOR, and enhanced PTEN expression in the two tumor models, which further confirmed that si circ-FBXW7 promoted CRC progression through upregulation of NEK2 and mTOR, and downregulation of PTEN. Here, NEK2 is linked to neoplasm.