Exosomal biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and patient monitoring.

Exosomal biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and patient monitoring. Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2020 Feb 18;: Authors: Makler A, Asghar W Abstract Introduction: Current methods for diagnosing cancer can be invasive and costly. In recent years, extensive research has been conducted on using exosomes as biomarkers for cancer detection. Exosomes are 40-150 nm-sized extracellular vesicles released by all cell types, including tumor cells. Exosomes are stable in body fluids due to their lipid bilayer member and often contain DNA, RNA, and proteins. These exosomes can be harvested from blood, plasma, serum, urine or saliva and analyzed for tumor-relevant mutations. Thus, providing an alternative to current methods of tumor detection.Areas covered: This review discusses the use of exosomal diagnostics in various tumor types as well as their examination in various clinical trials. The authors also discuss the limitations of exosome-based diagnostics in the clinical setting and provide examples of several studies in which the development and usage of microfluidic chips and nano sensing devices have been utilized to address these obstacles.Expert commentary: In recent years, exosomes and their contents have exhibited potential as novel tumor detection markers despite the labor involved in their harvest and isolation. Despite this, much work is being done to optimize exosome capture and analysis. Thus, their roles as biomarkers in the clinical setting a...
Source: Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics - Category: Laboratory Medicine Tags: Expert Rev Mol Diagn Source Type: research