The role of exosomal microRNAs; focus on clinical applications in breast cancer

Aiko Sueta; Yutaka Yamamoto; Hirotaka Iwase

doi:10.20517/cdr.2019.17

The role of exosomal microRNAs; focus on clinical applications in breast cancer

Cancer Drug Resist. 2019 Sep 19;2(3):847-861. doi: 10.20517/cdr.2019.17. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Aiko Sueta¹, Yutaka Yamamoto¹, Hirotaka Iwase¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Kumamoto University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1-1-1, Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan.

Abstract

Despite several advances in targeted therapies for breast cancer, breast-cancer-associated death remains high in women. This is partially due to the lack of reliable markers predicting metastatic disease or recurrence after initial therapy. Recent research into the clinical validity of circulating cancer-specific biomarkers as a "liquid biopsy" is of growing interest. Of these, exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) are promising candidate biomarkers for clinical use in breast cancer. In addition to their diagnostic value, exosomal miRNAs play an important role in predicting clinical outcome or treatment response. In this review, it is focused on the findings concerning exosomal miRNAs in relation to disease detection, prognostic impact and therapeutic effect in breast cancer, and discuss their clinical utility.

Keywords: Exosomal miRNA; breast cancer; liquid biopsy.

Publication types

Review