bims-exocan Biomed News
on Exosomes roles in cancer
Issue of 2026–03–01
eight papers selected by
Muhammad Rizwan, COMSATS University
  1. The dual roles of exosomes in prostate cancer: mechanisms in tumorigenesis and avenues for clinical translation.
  2. Exosome-mediated crosstalk between immune cells and tumor microenvironment in lung cancer: Implications for immune evasion and therapeutic resistance.
  3. Potential role of exosomes derived from the tumor microenvironment in tumor progression and treatment.
  4. Exosomes and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Current Knowledge and Clinical Significance.
  5. Colorectal cancer-derived extracellular vesicles: at the crossroads of the tumor microenvironment and gut microbiota.
  6. Extracellular Vesicles: A Multidimensional Role in the Occurrence and Development of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.
  7. Lipid cargo of exosomes derived from pancreatic stellate cells and cancer cells: Role in pancreatic cancer-related diabetes.
  8. Engineered Exosomes: Advances in Therapeutic Applications for Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Diseases.
  1. Front Immunol. 2026 ;17 1748272
    The dual roles of exosomes in prostate cancer: mechanisms in tumorigenesis and avenues for clinical translation.
    Mingyun Yu, Dan Zhou, Huijie Wei, Tong Wu, Jiahong Fan, Guanghe Ran, Chong Zhang.
      Prostate cancer (PCa) management remains challenged by tumor heterogeneity, unpredictable progression, and limitations in early detection, driving demand for innovative biological insights. As pivotal mediators of intercellular communication, exosomes exhibit dualistic roles in PCa pathogenesis and therapy. While acting as 'foes' by facilitating epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), angiogenesis, tumor microenvironment formation, metastasis, immune evasion, and therapy resistance, they concurrently serve as 'friends' through their diagnostic and therapeutic potential. Exosome-derived biomarkers enable non-invasive liquid biopsy for early diagnosis, risk stratification, and treatment monitoring. Moreover, engineered exosomes function as targeted drug carriers, delivering precision therapeutics to overcome treatment barriers. This review systematically examines exosomal biogenesis, isolation methodologies, and their bidirectional regulation in PCa progression, while exploring emerging diagnostic and therapeutic applications to advance exosome-mediated precision oncology.
    Keywords:  cancer; clinical application; exosomes; mechanism; prostate cancer
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1748272
  2. Cell Signal. 2026 Feb 26. pii: S0898-6568(26)00102-6. [Epub ahead of print]142 112452
    Exosome-mediated crosstalk between immune cells and tumor microenvironment in lung cancer: Implications for immune evasion and therapeutic resistance.
    Ruitong Tang, Zhongqian Juan, Fangtao Xing, Zhengjun Yi, Yurong Fu.
      Lung cancer (LC), a leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally, relies on intricate crosstalk within the tumor microenvironment (TME) to drive immune evasion and therapeutic resistance. Exosomes serve as key mediators of intercellular communication within the TME. They regulate molecular signaling between tumor cells and their microenvironment in both small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Exosomes carry a variety of bioactive substances. These substances work together to impair the immune system, speed up the growth of tumors, encourage invasion and metastasis, and exacerbate therapeutic resistance. Tumor-derived exosomes (TEXs) facilitate immune evasion by impairing cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) function, promoting regulatory T cells (Tregs) differentiation, and polarizing macrophages toward the tumor-supportive M2 phenotype. Exosomes also make cells more resistant to chemotherapy, targeted treatment, and immunotherapy by changing the way cells send signals, changing the TME to help cells stay alive, and sending proteins that make cells more resistant. Due to their stability and detectability in bodily fluids, exosomes represent promising noninvasive biomarkers for LC diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment monitoring. Translational strategies targeting exosome biogenesis, release, or uptake, as well as modified exosomes for targeted drug delivery and immune modulation, hold potential to overcome treatment resistance and improve clinical outcomes. This review summarizes the core mechanisms of exosome-mediated immune evasion and therapeutic resistance in LC, and highlights their key translational implications for clinical application.
    Keywords:  Biomarkers; Exosomes; Immune evasion; Lung cancer; Therapeutic resistance; Tumor microenvironment
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cellsig.2026.112452
  3. Front Oncol. 2025 ;15 1583295
    Potential role of exosomes derived from the tumor microenvironment in tumor progression and treatment.
    Ying Yu, Wenjun Zhang, Kun Wang.
      Exosomes are important intercellular communication substances that connect the intercellular communication between the tumor microenvironment and the premetastatic microenvironment during tumor progression. By carrying different regulatory substances, such as proteins, cytokines, nucleic acids, etc., to regulate tumor progression, including angiogenesis, invasion, metastasis, drug resistance and other aspects. In addition to their potential as diagnostic markers, exosomes can also be used as excellent drug delivery carriers. Due to their excellent targeting and histocompatibility, exosomes have considerable application prospects in tumor therapy. This reviews recent studies on tumor-related exosomes, summarizes the mechanisms of intercellular communication and regulation of exosomes in tumor microenvironment and pre-metastasis microenvironment, and summarizes the current research progress on exosomes in tumor therapy.
    Keywords:  exosome; pre-metastatic microenvironment; progression; treatment; tumor microenvironment
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2025.1583295
  4. Int J Mol Sci. 2026 Feb 17. pii: 1918. [Epub ahead of print]27(4):
    Exosomes and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Current Knowledge and Clinical Significance.
    Maria Loukopoulou, Anastasia Kottorou, Angelos Koutras, Foteinos-Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos.
      Exosomes, acting as vital mediators of cellular communication and carriers of diverse biomolecular cargo, are increasingly documented as important participants in cancer pathogenesis and progression. When it comes to triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a disease that comes with significant therapeutic hurdles, finding new, non-invasive biomarkers is absolutely crucial. This systematic review considers recent research, focusing on the role of exosomal biomarkers in diagnosing, predicting prognosis and foreseeing treatment response in TNBC patients. After an extensive search across PubMed and Google Scholar, we found many exosomal molecules showing great promise for early detection, tracking disease progression and tailoring treatments. This truly highlights liquid biopsy as a valuable, minimally invasive tool. However, there are still some big challenges to treat. These include variations in methodology, the sheer diversity of samples studied and the prevalence of research in specific populations, all of which make it harder to generalize findings. It has been suggested that future research must prioritize protocol standardization, achieving a deeper understanding of underlying biological mechanisms and, crucially, developing combinatorial biomarker panels. Ultimately, the successful translation of exosomal biomarkers into clinical practice will significantly advance personalized medicine in TNBC, leading to improved patient outcomes and an enhanced quality of life.
    Keywords:  TNBC; cancer; exosomes; extracellular vesicles; triple-negative breast cancer
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27041918
  5. Front Immunol. 2026 ;17 1668737
    Colorectal cancer-derived extracellular vesicles: at the crossroads of the tumor microenvironment and gut microbiota.
    Hao Li, Wei Zhang, Wenhui Yan, Kun Wang, Si Chen, Yamao Li, Anzhi Sheng, Anquan Shang, Bingjie Zeng.
      Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. The clinical treatment faces multiple challenges of significant tumor heterogeneity, prevalence of chemo-resistance, low response rate to immunotherapy, and the impact of the patient's intestinal microenvironment. Recent studies have shown that extracellular vesicles (EVs), as important information transfer carriers for regulating tumorigenesis and development, play a key role in mediating the complex regulatory network of the gut microbiota-tumor microenvironment (TME). Based on current research advances, our review systematically elucidates how CRC-derived EVs function as dynamic molecular messengers, mediating bidirectional interactions between the TME and the gut microbiota. It also provides a comprehensive outline of EV biogenesis and the key signaling pathways regulated by their diverse molecular cargo. It further delineates how these pathways act in concert to promote the formation of an immunosuppressive microenvironment, drive tumor metastasis, and confer therapy resistance. This review aims to provide a coherent theoretical framework for understanding CRC progression and drug resistance, to offer a scientific rationale for novel therapies targeting CRC-derived EVs, and to highlight future research directions essential for overcoming methodological bottlenecks, deciphering complex interaction networks, and advancing clinical translation.
    Keywords:  biomarkers; colorectal cancer; drug resistance; extracellular vesicles; gut microbiota; progression; treatment; tumor microenvironment
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1668737
  6. Biomolecules. 2026 Feb 09. pii: 267. [Epub ahead of print]16(2):
    Extracellular Vesicles: A Multidimensional Role in the Occurrence and Development of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.
    Huining Chen, Hejing Huang, Song Qu.
      Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have garnered significant attention in cancer research, as they enable the regulation of the occurrence, progression, and metastasis of tumors. This narrative review summarizes studies published between 2020 and 2025 from PubMed, focusing on nasopharyngeal carcinoma and extracellular vesicles. We analyze the function and mechanism of EVs in the tumor microenvironment, biomarkers, and treatment. Numerous studies have attempted to explain the mechanism of NPC-EVs affecting tumor microenvironments through the transmission of its cargo. And liquid-biopsy technology using EVs as biomarkers, such as exosomal cyclophilin A, the phosphatase and tensin homolog, and EVs-miR-30a-5p, has been studied for diagnosis and prognostic evaluation. In the therapy aspect, researchers are attempting to explore the role of EVs in the resistance process of NPC treatment, with the aim of clinical translation. Current limitations include biological distribution of EVs and so on. Future research should focus on establishing the standardized production system and more convenient separation and purification techniques for EVs. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the nasopharyngeal carcinoma-related EVs.
    Keywords:  biomarkers; extracellular vesicles; nasopharyngeal carcinoma; therapy; tumor microenvironment
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/biom16020267
  7. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids. 2026 Feb 25. pii: S1388-1981(26)00022-3. [Epub ahead of print] 159736
    Lipid cargo of exosomes derived from pancreatic stellate cells and cancer cells: Role in pancreatic cancer-related diabetes.
    Rohit Sarkar, Patrick Wu, Helen Binang, Parvathy Rajan, S M Zahid Hosen, Zhihong Xu, Roman Pirola, Jeremy Wilson, Minoti Apte, Chamini J Perera.
      Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal malignancy often accompanied by pancreatic cancer related diabetes (PCRD), a paraneoplastic condition characterised by early metabolic dysfunction. Emerging evidence suggests that factors carried by exosomes, small extracellular vesicles secreted by tumour cells and pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs), play a pivotal role in mediating intercellular communication and metabolic reprogramming associated with PCRD. While protein and RNA contents of exosomes have been studied as potential mediators of PCRD, their lipid cargo remains underexplored. In this study, we employed targeted liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-QQQ-MS) to profile lipids in exosomes derived from mouse PSCs (PSC-Ex), pancreatic cancer KPC cells (KPC-Ex), and their co-cultures (PSC + KPC-Ex), along with their parent cell pellets. A total of 451 lipid species were identified, encompassing phospholipids, sphingolipids, triglycerides, and cholesteryl esters. Principal component analysis revealed distinct lipid signatures between exosomes and their parent cells, indicating selective lipid loading. Notably, PSC-Ex were enriched in lysophosphatidylcholines (e.g., LPC 16:0, LPC 22:5), which have been implicated in enhancing insulin secretion and modulating inflammation. Conversely, KPC-Ex exhibited higher levels of ganglioside GM3(d18:1_24:0), sphingomyelin SM(d18:1_16:1), and phosphatidylethanolamine PE(16:0_20:3), lipids associated with insulin receptor inhibition and membrane remodelling in cancer. Co-culture exosomes demonstrated a shift toward glycosphingolipids, with an enrichment of lactosylceramide (Hex2Cer(d18:1_16:0), a lipid linked to insulin resistance and tumour progression. These findings suggest that exosomal lipid composition is modulated by tumour-stromal interactions and may contribute to systemic glucose dysregulation in PDAC. Identifying specific bioactive lipids within exosomes offers potential for developing biomarkers for early detection of PCRD and understanding the metabolic crosstalk in pancreatic cancer.
    Keywords:  Lactosylceramide; Lipidomics; Pancreatic cancer; Pancreatic cancer-related diabetes; Pancreatic stellate cells
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbalip.2026.159736
  8. Int J Nanomedicine. 2026 ;21 574708
    Engineered Exosomes: Advances in Therapeutic Applications for Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Diseases.
    Han Zhu, Jing He, Shishi Yang, Gang Qin.
      Given the intricate anatomy of otolaryngology-head and neck (OHNS) regions and the inherent limitations of conventional therapies, many OHNS diseases have suboptimal clinical outcomes. As natural intercellular mediators, exosomes have demonstrated unique application potential in OHNS treatment in recent years, thanks to their high biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, and intrinsic targeting capabilities. However, such issues as limited drug-loading capacity, suboptimal in vivo stability, and insufficient targeting precision still hinder their clinical translation. Notably, recent advances in engineering strategies such as genetic editing, surface modification, and optimized drug loading enhance natural exosomes' functionality, boosting targeting accuracy, in vivo stability, and therapeutic efficacy. Considering conventional therapy limitations and engineered exosomes' unique potential, this review synthesizes their progress, mechanisms, and translational challenges in OHNS, and addresses lingering technical and translation barriers via interdisciplinary collaboration to optimize their design, utility, and bench-to-bedside translation, as these exosomes are promising precision tools for refractory OHNS diseases advancing precision medicine in the field.
    Keywords:  engineered exosomes; inflammatory diseases; otorhinolaryngological tumors; targeted delivery; tissue regeneration and repair
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S574708
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