HDGF and neoplasm: These results demonstrated that miR-1252-5p downregulation counteracted the tumor-suppressive role of circ-IARS exhaustion in NSCLC cells in vitro, and HDGF restoration abolished the anti-tumor role of miR-1252-5p upregulation in the malignant growth, migration, and invasion as well, suggesting the role of circ-IARS/miR-1252-5p/HDGF ceRNA axis in the regulation of NSCLC malignancy.