Extracellular vesicles in solid tumors: from tumor ecology to engineered therapeutics - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #Cancer Therapeutics
- #Solid Tumors
- #Extracellular Vesicles
- Extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate intercellular communication in solid tumors, influencing tumor evolution through cargo transfer.
- EV functions include tumor microenvironment remodeling, metastatic niche formation, immune regulation, and stress responses, but vary by context.
- EV production is adaptive, linked to intracellular trafficking and metabolic programs under stress.
- EV heterogeneity and plasticity pose biological challenges but also enable therapeutic engineering opportunities.
- Engineering strategies for EVs involve source selection, surface modification, cargo loading, and hybrid approaches.
- Clinical translation faces barriers like heterogeneity, isolation variability, mechanistic gaps, scalability, and regulatory issues.
- This review assesses both opportunities and limitations of EV-based diagnostics and therapeutics in solid tumors.