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Table 2 Exosomes from distinct biofluids of cancer patients as biomarkers

From: Exosomes in cancer: small particle, big player

Exosomal cargos

Cancer types

Methods

Clinical value

Biofluids

References

CD34

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

Immunoaffinity capture

Higher levels of CD34+ exosomes in AML patients

Plasma

[117]

EDIL-3/Del1

Bladder cancer

Western blot

Elevated expression in patients with high-grade bladder cancer

Urine

[118]

miR-101, 372, 373

Breast cancer

qRT-PCR

Highly expressed in breast cancer patients and elevated miR-373 expression in receptor-negative breast cancer patients

Serum

[119]

miR-21, 146a

Cervical cancer

qRT-PCR

Elevated expression in exosomes from cervical cancer patients than healthy controls and HPV(+) subjects

Cervicovaginal lavages

[120]

Let-7a, miR-1229, 1246, 150, 21, 223, 23a

Colon cancer

qRT-PCR

Highly expressed in exosomes from colon cancer patients

Serum

[121]

CD147, CD9

Colon cancer

Exoscreen

Higher levels of CD147/CD9 double-positive extracellular vesicles in cancer patients than healthy controls

Serum

[122]

miR-17-92a cluster

Colon cancer

qRT-PCR

Elevated expression in cancer patients and higher levels predict poorer prognoses

Serum

[123]

miR-21

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC)

qRT-PCR

Exosomal levels of miR-21 are significantly higher in patients with ESCC than those with benign diseases

Serum

[80]

LINC00152

Gastric cancer

qRT-PCR

Elevated expression levels in gastric cancer patients than healthy controls

Plasma

[83]

EGFRvIII (mRNA)

Glioblastoma

Nested RT-PCR

Mutated EGFRvIII could be detected in exosomes from 7 of 25 glioblastoma patients but not that from 30 healthy subjects

Serum

[75]

miR-718

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)

qRT-PCR

Decreased expression of miR-718 in exosomes from HCC cases with recurrence after liver transplantation compared with those without recurrence

Serum

[124]

miR-21

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)

qRT-PCR

Higher exosomal levels in patients with HCC than those with hepatitis or healthy controls

Serum

[125]

miR-17-3p, 21, 106a, 146, 155, 191, 192, 203, 205, 210, 212, 214

Lung cancer

miRNA array

Total exosome and miRNA levels are upregulated in lung cancer patients and these 12 miRNAs could be detected in exosomes

Plasma

[76]

LRG1

Lung cancer

Western blot

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer have an increased LRG1 expression in exosomes compared to healthy controls

Urine

[126]

TYRP2, VLA-4, Hsp70, MET

Melanoma

Western blot, multiplex protein analysis

The levels of these 4 proteins are increased in exosomes from stage III and IV patients compared to stage I patients as well as healthy controls

Plasma

[39]

CD63, caveolin-1

Melanoma

In-house sandwich ELISA (Exotest)

Melanoma patients have more CD63- and caveolin-1-positive exosomes compared to healthy controls

Plasma

[127]

Galectin-9

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)

Western blot

Exosomes from NPC patients but not that from healthy controls contain galectin-9

Serum

[128]

Claudin-4

Ovarian cancer

Western blot

Claudin-4 could be detected in exosomes from 32 of 63 ovarian cancer patients but only 1 of 50 healthy controls

Plasma

[129]

miR-21, 141, 200a, 200b, 200c, 203, 205, 214

Ovarian cancer

miRNA array

The levels of these 8 miRNAs are elevated in exosomes from ovarian cancer patients compared to healthy controls and benign tumors

Serum

[72]

miR-1246, 4644, 3976, 4306

Pancreatic cancer

qRT-PCR

Upregulated expression in pancreatic cancer patients compared to healthy controls

Serum

[130]

PTEN

Prostate cancer

Western blot

PTEN is exclusively expressed in exosomes of prostate cancer patients compared to healthy controls

Plasma

[131]

Survivin

Prostate cancer

Western blot, ELISA

Prostate cancer patients have more survivin-positive exosomes compared to healthy controls as well as patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia

Plasma

[132]

PSA, PSMA

Prostate cancer

Western blot

Detected in 20 of 24 exosomes from prostate cancer patients but not in healthy controls

Urine

[133]

miR-1290, miR-375

Prostate cancer

qRT-PCR

Highly expressed in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients and their levels are significantly associated with poor overall survival

Plasma

[134]

LncRNA-p21

Prostate cancer

qRT-PCR

Higher level of exosomal lncRNA-p21 in patients with prostate cancer than those with benign hyperplasia

Plasma

[135]