CirRFKB (Circadian-related Risk Factors Knowledgebase for Cancer) is a comprehensive, manually curated knowledgebase that systematically catalogs and organizes circadian rhythm related risk factors associated with cancer initiation, progression, and outcomes. It was designed to bridge the gap between chronobiology and oncology by integrating multidisciplinary knowledge from genetics, behavior, environment, and physiology.

CirRFKB draws data from 471 original research articles published up to Dec 31, 2023, retrieved from the PubMed database. Each entry in the knowledgebase includes detailed information about the type of circadian risk factor, associated cancer type, study context, and impact classification (e.g., risk, protective, non-influencing, or unclear).

CirRFKB serves as a centralized knowledge platform for researchers, clinicians, and public health experts to explore how circadian disruption influences cancer risk. It also supports hypothesis generation, risk prediction, and the development of personalized prevention strategies.

Despite growing interest in the circadian clock’s role in cancer, current knowledge remains fragmented and inconsistent. Studies vary widely in terms of cancer types, study design, exposure assessments, and population characteristics. Furthermore, circadian-related findings are often buried in complex literature, making it difficult to extract and apply meaningful insights.

By aggregating evidence from diverse disciplines, CirRFKB allows researchers to explore not only individual risk factors but also complex interactions between genes, behaviors, and environments. It highlights both well-established mechanisms and research gaps, fostering new investigations in cancer prevention and chronotherapy.

CirRFKB was built through a rigorous and transparent data curation pipeline to ensure high-quality, reliable, and clinically relevant information. The following five steps were applied to construct the database:

This comprehensive curation process ensures that all entries in CirRFKB are traceable, reproducible, and suitable for downstream applications including computational modeling, cancer risk scoring, and clinical decision-making in precision oncology.

CirRFKB provides a rich and structured resource composed of manually curated data on circadian-related cancer risk factors. The current release includes:

CirRFKB provides a responsive and interactive web interface tailored for efficient access, visualization, and contribution. Users can:

CirRFKB is built to support diverse users across scientific and clinical domains. The database is especially useful for:

CirRFKB is the result of an international collaboration between research teams at:

Corresponding Authors:

The platform was built by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in critical care medicine, chronobiology, oncology, systems genetics, and biomedical informatics. Their combined efforts ensure both scientific rigor and practical utility of the knowledgebase.

If you use CirRFKB in your research, please cite the following work:

If you have any questions, suggestions or feedback, please contact us: