Exosome mediated cell signal toward breast cancer metastasis: A comprehensive review

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is among the most frequent cancer and is, more challenging to treat due to its heterogeneity and metastatic ability. Among extracellular vesicles, exosomes are quite significant for diagnosis and prognosis, given their pleiotropy and drug-carrying abilities. Studying their functions, morphology, biogenesis, and involvement in important pathways can help us understand their role in BC proliferation. A detailed review of their roles in different stages of BC as metastatic disease, such as proliferation, intravasation, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, extravasation, immune evasion, and metastatic growth, can help us understand how to target therapy as well as diagnosis. In the metastatic process, exosome involvement can also be tied to the seed and soil hypothesis, allowing us to understand the direction of progression. From their isolation to the study of their contents in relevance to BC in the process of detection, we have therapeutic applications and can make a significant contribution to the field of oncology. Hence, the present review focuses on this exosome-mediated cell signaling molecule and its importance in BC progression and development.