Small extracellular vesicles from surviving cancer cells as multiparametric monitoring tools of measurable residual disease and therapeutic efficiency

Abstract

Although conventional anti-cancer therapies remove most cells of the tumor mass, small surviving populations may evolve adaptive resistance strategies, which lead to treatment failure. The size of the resistant population initially may not reach the threshold of clinical detection (designated as measurable residual disease/MRD) thus, its investigation requires highly sensitive and specific methods. Here, we discuss that the specific molecular fingerprint of tumor-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) is suitable for longitudinal monitoring of MRD. Furthermore, we present a concept that exploiting the multiparametric nature of sEVs may help early detection of recurrence and the design of dynamic, evolution-adjusted treatments.

Keywords: Exosome; Extracellular vesicle; Longitudinal monitoring; Measurable residual disease; Therapeutic response; Tumor evolution.