Abstract
Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the most diagnosed gynecological cancers in women. Due to the lack of effective early stage screening, women are more often diagnosed at an advanced stage; therefore, it is associated with poor patient outcomes. There are a lack of tools to identify patients at the highest risk of developing this cancer. Moreover, early detection strategies, therapeutic approaches, and real-time monitoring of responses to treatment to improve survival and quality of life are also inadequate. Tumor development and progression are dependent upon cell-to-cell communication, allowing cancer cells to re-program cells not only within the surrounding tumor microenvironment, but also at distant sites. Recent studies established that extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate bi-directional communication between normal and cancerous cells. EVs are highly stable membrane vesicles that are released from a wide range of cells, including healthy and cancer cells. They contain tissue-specific signaling molecules (e.g., proteins and miRNA) and, once released, regulate target cell phenotypes, inducing a pro-tumorigenic and immunosuppressive phenotype to contribute to tumor growth and metastasis as well as proximal and distal cell function. Thus, EVs are a “fingerprint” of their cell of origin and reflect the metabolic status. Additionally, via the capacity to evade the immune system and remain stable over long periods in circulation, EVs can be potent therapeutic agents. This review examines the potential role of EVs in the different aspects of the tumor microenvironment in OC, as well as their application in diagnosis, delivery of therapeutic agents, and disease monitoring.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilOvarian cancer is one of the most common gynecological cancers with a fatal outcome when detected at an advanced stage, and this is partly due to the unambiguous nature of the clinical symptoms
Ovarian cancer (OC) can be classified into more than 10 distinct histological subtypes, and malignant epithelial ovarian carcinomas (EOCs) comprise about 90% of the cases; this review focuses on EOCs
The recent discoveries that exosomal-signaling pathways regulate key aspects of ovarian cancer metastasis and disease progression, extracellular vesicles (EVs) are an attractive avenue to explore for ovarian cancer detection, therapeutics, and prognosis
Summary
Extracellular vesicles can be subdivided into three main groups: sEVs (50–150 nm), microvesicles (50–1000 nm), and apoptotic vesicles (>1000 nm) [26]. These vesicles differ in size, and in their site of origin and biogenesis. Small EVs have an endosomal origin and their biogenesis begins with an inward budding of the plasma membrane [27]. This leads to the formation of an endosome that eventually becomes a multivesicular body through inward invaginations of its membrane. SEVs comprise various intra-vesicular components, as discussed below
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
