Tumor-associated Exosomes Are Involved in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Tumorigenesis, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has become a challenging disease worldwide. There are still limitations in the diagnosis and treatment of HCC, and its high metastatic capac-ity and high recurrence rate are the main reasons for its poor prognosis. The ability of extracellular vesicles (EVs) to transfer functionally-active substances and their wide-spread presence in almost all body fluids suggest their un-precedented potential in the study of various cancers. The unique physicochemical properties of EVs determine their potential as antitumor vaccines and drug carriers. In the last decade, the study of EVs in HCC has evolved from a single hot topic to a system with considerable scale. This paper summarizes the role of EVs, especially exosomes, in the occurrence, metastasis and tumor immunity of HCC, re-views their applications in tumor diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, describes the pros and cons of these studies, and looks forward towards the future research directions of EVs in HCC.