The Role of Extracellular Vesicles in the Treatment of Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PCa) has become a public health concern in elderly men due to an ever‐increasing number of estimated cases. Unfortunately, the available treatments are unsatisfactory because of a lack of a durable response, especially in advanced disease states. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid‐bilayer encircled nanoscale vesicles that carry numerous biomolecules (e.g., nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids), mediating the transfer of information. The past decade has witnessed a wide range of EV applications in both diagnostics and therapeutics. First, EV‐based non‐invasive liquid biopsies provide biomarkers in various clinical scenarios to guide treatment; EVs can facilitate the grading and staging of patients for appropriate treatment selection. Second, EVs play a pivotal role in pathophysiological processes via intercellular communication. Targeting key molecules involved in EV‐mediated tumor progression (e.g., proliferation, angiogenesis, metastasis, immune escape, and drug resistance) is a potential approach for curbing PCa. Third, EVs are promising drug carriers. Naïve EVs from various sources and engineered EV‐based drug delivery systems have paved the way for the development of new treatment modalities. This review discusses the recent advancements in the application of EV therapies and highlights EV‐based functional materials as novel interventions for PCa.

Urinary extracellular vesicle-derived miR-126-3p predicts lymph node invasion in patients with high-risk prostate cancer

“…First, there is no uniform way to isolate EVs [ 36 ]. There are potential differences in EVs obtained based on different isolation methods, and potential co-isolated substances may interfere with the test results leading to limited marker application [ 13 , 37 ]. In this study, we separated EVs from clinical samples using size exclusion chromatography (SEC), which is based on molecular size.…”