Future perspectives for body fluid exosomes and cancer

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles which contain DNA, RNAs, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids derived from normal and tumor cells that are secreted into body fluids. Exosomes can influence other cells at distance once in body fluids. There are ongoing studies being conducted to determine how exosomes can be used for both the early detection and treatment of cancer. In this article, we discuss some of these diagnostic and therapeutic investigations, some of which may make their way to clinical applicability in the future.