REVIEW article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Cancers: Hepato Pancreatic Biliary Cancers
This article is part of the Research TopicDiagnosis and Management of Pancreatic CancerView all 7 articles
Extracellular derived-exosomal microRNAs in pancreatic cancer: Investigating their diagnostic importance and potential targets for the prevention and treatment in pancreatic cancer
Provisionally accepted
Rashid Mir1*
ulfat Jan2
Jameel Barnawi2Naseh A Algehainy2
Mohammed M Jalal2Malik A. Altayar2
Reem almotairi1
Tarig Ms Alnour2
SYED Khalid Mustafa2Abdulaziz S Al-Otaibi2Adel D Althaqafy2
Elham Alhathli2
Salma Saleh Alrdahe2
Prof. (Dr.) Mohammad Muzaffar Mir3Nada Zaki Sageer4abdul Latif Taha5Afaq Ahmad Khan6- 1Fahad Bin Sultan University, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
- 2University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
- 3University of Bisha, Bishah, Saudi Arabia
- 4King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 5Umm Al-Qura University College of Medicine, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
- 6Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, India
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Pancreatic cancer stands out as a deadly disease because patients receive late diagnosis and struggle with ineffective treatments. Exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) that exist inside lipid bilayers help tumors grow and spread while making cells resistant to treatment and enabling cell-to-cell communication. Their ability to stay stable in body fluids makes them good candidates for early disease detection and treatment prediction tests. Research shows that miR-21, miR-17-5p, and miR-155 exosomal miRNAs help pancreatic cancer progress but also provide new targets for medical treatment. This review consolidates current evidence on the diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic potential of exosomal miRNAs in pancreatic cancer, integrating mechanistic insights into key signaling pathways such as PTEN/PI3Kγ, KRAS/MAPK, and TGF-β. Compared with previous reports, this work provides a comparative framework linking disease-specific exomiR profiles to other cancers, highlighting miR-21, miR-17-5p, miR-155, and miR-301a as central modulators. We further discuss methodological challenges, translational opportunities, and future directions in developing exosome-based diagnostics and miRNA-loaded therapeutic platforms. Understanding exosomal miRNA networks can pave the way for precision detection and targeted therapy in pancreatic cancer
Keywords: Exosomal microRNAs, Pancreatic Cancer, biomarkers, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy resistance, targeted therapy
Received: 21 Jul 2025; Accepted: 30 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mir, Jan, Barnawi, A Algehainy, Jalal, A. Altayar, almotairi, Ms Alnour, Mustafa, S Al-Otaibi, D Althaqafy, Alhathli, Alrdahe, Mir, Zaki Sageer, Latif Taha and Ahmad Khan. 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: Rashid Mir, rashid@ut.edu.sa
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.