Liver cancer is the sixth most prevalent type of cancer worldwide and accounts for the third most frequent cause of cancer‑associated mortality. Conventional anticancer drugs display limited efficacy owing to their short half‑life, poor solubility and inefficient drug delivery. Despite advancements being made in drug discovery and development for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), drug inefficacy and drug continue to pose significant obstacles to effective treatment. Therefore, it is imperative that novel treatment strategies be developed with the aim of developing anticancer treatments without any side‑effects and with long‑term durability. Extracellular vesicles, such as exosomes, intercellular communication agents which have the ability to carry heterogenous molecules with high penetrability, low immunogenicity and longer durability, may provide a versatile natural delivery system. The present review article illustrates the innovative treatment strategy using exosomes as a delivery agent for two distinct anticancer candidates, i.e., tumor necrosis factor‑related apoptosis‑inducing ligand and microRNA‑335. The aim of the present review was to present a unique strategy for the development of an exceptional anticancer treatment therapy exploiting exosomes as a delivery vehicle which may be used for HCC.
Keywords: anticancer therapy; drug resistance; exosomes; hepatocellular carcinoma; miR335; tumor necrosis factor‑related apoptosis‑inducing ligand.