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Review
. 2019 Jan 6;15(1):1-11.
doi: 10.7150/ijbs.27796. eCollection 2019.

Current Progresses of Exosomes as Cancer Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarkers

Tao Huang  1 , Chu-Xia Deng  1
Affiliations
Review

Current Progresses of Exosomes as Cancer Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarkers

Tao Huang et al. Int J Biol Sci. .

Abstract

Cancer related exosomes are nano-size membrane vesicles that play important roles in tumor microenvironment. Emerging evidence indicates that exosomes can load unique cargoes, including proteins and nucleic acids that reflect the condition of tumor. Therefore, exosomes are being used as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for various cancers. In this review, we describe the current progresses of cancer related exosomes, including their biogenesis, molecular contents, biological functions, sources where they are derived from, and methods for their detection. We will also discuss the current exosomal biomarkers and the utilization of them for early diagnosis and prognostics in cancer.

Keywords: biomarkers; cancer; diagnosis; exosomes; prognosis; therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structure and contents of cancer derived exosomes. Exosomes contain lipid bilayer membrane structures, which carry typical transmembrane proteins and receptors, adhesion molecules, the lipid raft associated protein, immune regulator molecules and tetraspanins. Within the exosomal lumen, several proteins and nucleic acid can be found, including a vast array of different molecules depending on different types of cancer cells.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cancer derived exosomes-mediated cellular process signaling. Tumor exosomes carry proteins and nucleic acids and are released into tumor microenvironment. They could be uptaken by recipient cells to stimulate tumor growth and metastasis. After drug treatment, exosomes, if they derived from drug resistance cells, can also transmit the resistant feature to recipient cells to mediate resistance. Furthermore, exosomes can stimulate immune response to inhibit immune cells response in general, while increase immunogenicity to improve anti-tumor effect under some specific stress conditions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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