REVIEW article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Molecular and Cellular Oncology
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1592006
Current Trends in Theranostic Applications of Extracellular Vesicles in Cancer
Provisionally accepted
Yazan Almasry1
Fayrouz Mustafa1
Mohammed Alfuwais1
Sara Alnachef1Hager Mohamed1Nusaibah S Gaber1Mohammed Imran Khan2
Islam M Saadeldin3
Ahmed Yaqinuddin1,4*- 1College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 2King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- 3King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 4Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Background:Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play an integral role in cancer biology, influencing tumor progression, metastasis, and tumor microenvironment. Due to their distinctive molecular composition, including proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids, EVs present a promising candidate for cancer diagnostics and precision therapeutics.Methods:This review was conducted by looking up recent studies obtained through PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases using targeted keywords such as "Extracellular Vesicles," "Cancer Therapy," "Biomarkers," "Exosomes," "Tumor Microenvironment," and "Precision Medicine." From an initial 4,320 articles identified, 427 were screened after applying publication filters, resulting in the inclusion of 298 articles relevant to EV isolation, characterization, diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and therapeutic efficacy.Results:Biomarkers derived from EVs derived across various cancers showed high diagnostic performance. For example, four miRNA EVs showing sensitivity and specificity of 98% and 96% respectively was found in breast cancer. EV-RNA and surface antigen analyses for hepatocellular carcinoma with 93.8% sensitivity and 74.5% specificity. Additionally, EV biomarker cancers of the colorectal microRNA miR-23a and miR-301a had 89% sensitivity and >70% specificity. EVs in a therapeutic context were an effective drug delivery system for enhancing precision of chemotherapy and immunotherapy with reduced systemic toxicity.Conclusion:The theranostics of EVs provide great capacity for early cancer diagnosis and personalized treatment based on their high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. Future standardization protocols are essential to translate EV technologies into clinical oncology.
Keywords: Extracellular vesicles1, Cancer therapy2, biomarkers3, exosomes4, tumor microenvironment5, precision medicine6
Received: 11 Mar 2025; Accepted: 05 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Almasry, Mustafa, Alfuwais, Alnachef, Mohamed, Gaber, Khan, Saadeldin and Yaqinuddin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ahmed Yaqinuddin, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.