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Review
. 2023 Apr 4;24(7):6757.
doi: 10.3390/ijms24076757.

Extracellular Vesicles as Potential Bladder Cancer Biomarkers: Take It or Leave It?

Ana Teixeira-Marques  1 , Catarina Lourenço  1   2   3   4 , Miguel Carlos Oliveira  1 , Rui Henrique  1   5   6 , Carmen Jerónimo  1   6
Affiliations
Review

Extracellular Vesicles as Potential Bladder Cancer Biomarkers: Take It or Leave It?

Ana Teixeira-Marques et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Bladder cancer (BC) is the 10th most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide. Although urine cytology and cystoscopy are current standards for BC diagnosis, both have limited sensitivity to detect low-grade and small tumors. Moreover, effective prognostic biomarkers are lacking. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipidic particles that contain nucleic acids, proteins, and metabolites, which are released by cells into the extracellular space, being crucial effectors in intercellular communication. These particles have emerged as potential tools carrying biomarkers for either diagnosis or prognosis in liquid biopsies namely urine, plasma, and serum. Herein, we review the potential of liquid biopsies EVs' cargo as BC diagnosis and prognosis biomarkers. Additionally, we address the emerging advantages and downsides of using EVs within this framework.

Keywords: biomarkers; bladder cancer; extracellular vesicles; liquid biopsies; lncRNA; miRNA; protein.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram summarizing the methodology used in this review.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of extracellular-vesicle-derived bladder cancer biomarkers within urine and plasma/serum biofluids. Numbers represent the number of BC-EV biomarker studies. Created with BioRender.com.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Summary of extracellular vesicle isolation methods that were used in BC articles, concerning urine, plasma, and serum. Numbers represent the number of BC-EV biomarker studies. Abbreviations: BC—Bladder cancer; EVs—extracellular vesicles. Created with BioRender.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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