Extracellular Vesicles as Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets in Breast Cancer.

Cancer-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) contain various cancer-associated molecules, such as mutated or overexpressed oncoproteins, glycoproteins, mRNAs, various non-coding RNAs and DNA fragments. They have been shown to propagate phenotypic traits, such as drug resistance, increased proliferation rate, invasiveness and stemness across cancer cells and to mediate cancer-induced immunosuppression. Therefore, cancer-derived EVs have gained increasing attention as cancer biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Unlike circulating tumor cells they are highly abundant in biofluids and, on the contrary to single-molecule circulating biomarkers, they protect their molecular cargo against degradation and may carry molecular signatures associated with specific phenotypes. Herein, we summarize studies investigating EVs as biomarkers in breast cancer and propose scenarios for various clinical applications of EV-based biomarkers in the management of breast cancer. Furthermore, we provide an overview of recent findings regarding the cancer-promoting effects of breast cancer-derived EVs and discuss opportunities for blocking EV-mediated signaling as a therapeutic strategy for breast cancer.

Sadovska L ，Eglītis J ，Linē A 《-》

Extracellular vesicles as a novel source of biomarkers in liquid biopsies for monitoring cancer progression and drug resistance.

Cancer-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been detected in the bloodstream and other biofluids of cancer patients. They carry various tumor-derived molecules such as mutated DNA and RNA fragments, oncoproteins as well as miRNA and protein signatures associated with various phenotypes. The molecular cargo of EVs partially reflects the intracellular status of their cellular origin, however various sorting mechanisms lead to the enrichment or depletion of EVs in specific nucleic acids, proteins or lipids. It is becoming increasingly clear that cancer-derived EVs act in a paracrine and systemic manner to promote cancer progression by transferring aggressive phenotypic traits and drug-resistant phenotypes to other cancer cells, modulating the anti-tumor immune response, as well as contributing to remodeling the tumor microenvironment and formation of pre-metastatic niches. These findings have raised the idea that cancer-derived EVs may serve as analytes in liquid biopsies for real-time monitoring of tumor burden and drug resistance. In this review, we have summarized recent longitudinal clinical studies describing promising EV-associated biomarkers for cancer progression and tracking cancer evolution as well as pre-clinical and clinical evidence on the relevance of EVs for monitoring the emergence or progression of drug resistance. Furthermore, we outlined the state-of-the-art in the development and commercialization of EV-based biomarkers and discussed the scientific and technological challenges that need to be met in order to translate EV research into clinically applicable tools for precision medicine.

Vasconcelos MH ，Caires HR ，Ābols A ，Xavier CPR ，Linē A ... -  《-》

Extracellular vesicles: An overview of biogenesis, function, and role in breast cancer.

Zha QB ，Yao YF ，Ren ZJ ，Li XJ ，Tang JH ... -  《-》

IL-3R-alpha blockade inhibits tumor endothelial cell-derived extracellular vesicle (EV)-mediated vessel formation by targeting the β-catenin pathway.

Lombardo G ，Gili M ，Grange C ，Cavallari C ，Dentelli P ，Togliatto G ，Taverna D ，Camussi G ，Brizzi MF ... -  《-》

Extracellular vesicles in ovarian cancer: applications to tumor biology, immunotherapy and biomarker discovery.

Nawaz M ，Fatima F ，Nazarenko I ，Ekström K ，Murtaza I ，Anees M ，Sultan A ，Neder L ，Camussi G ，Valadi H ，Squire JA ，Kislinger T ... -  《-》