Extracellular Vesicles in Cancer Diagnosis

An early cancer diagnosis is critical for improving patient survival rates and quality of life. However, diagnosis of tumors mainly relies on imaging tests with limited sensitivity, and invasive biopsies are unsuitable for cancer screening or evaluation of tumor responses to treatment. Liquid biopsies are promising avenues in cancer diagnosis and fill the gap in cancer screening. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are considered next-generation liquid biopsy biomarkers for cancer diagnosis. There is substantial evidence that, in comparison to non-malignant cells, cancer cells secrete a high number of EVs that can be discharged into the surrounding bodily fluids. Hence, EVs may be utilized as a disease marker for the diagnosis and prognosis of malignancies and for enabling research into the underlying mechanism and biomolecular foundation of diseases. This chapter intends to impart the reader the latest updates in EVs biomarkers, methods in EVs biomarker analysis, and clinical translation of EVs biomarker.