Peptide Based Engineering of Extracellular Vesicles for Cancer Theranostics and Vaccine

Cancer poses a significant global health challenge, with conventional treatments often leading to high toxicity and limited specificity, resulting in adverse side effects and inadequate patient outcomes.

This review aims to explore the potential of peptide-based engineering of extracellular vesicles (EVs) for targeted cancer theranostics and vaccine development.

We examine various strategies for peptide conjugation, focusing on tumor-homing peptides that enhance the selective delivery of diagnostic and therapeutic agents to cancer cells. This includes approaches for improving cellular uptake, facilitating endosomal escape, and effectively loading therapeutic cargo into EVs.

The applications of peptide-engineered EVs in cancer diagnosis are promising, particularly as biomarkers for early detection and in liquid biopsies for monitoring treatment responses. In therapeutic contexts, these engineered EVs demonstrate significant potential for targeted delivery to tumors and can be combined with immunotherapy to improve outcomes. Furthermore, we highlight the clinical advancements in utilizing peptide-based engineered EVs as cancer vaccines, showcasing their role in enhancing therapeutic efficacy while minimizing collateral damage to healthy tissues. This review highlights the transformative potential of peptide-engineered EVs in advancing cancer care through improved specificity and reduced toxicity.