Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Oct 8;22(19):10899. doi: 10.3390/ijms221910899.
Brain metastases (BM) are a frequent complication in patients with advanced stages of cancer, associated with impairment of the neurological function, quality of life, prognosis, and survival. BM treatment consists of a combination of the available cancer therapies, such as surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapies. Even so, cancer patients with BM are still linked to poor prognosis, with overall survival being reported as 12 months or less. Intercellular communication has a pivotal role in the development of metastases, therefore, it has been extensively studied not only to better understand the metastization process, but also to further develop new therapeutic strategies. Exosomes have emerged as key players in intercellular communication being potential therapeutic targets, drug delivery systems (DDS) or biomarkers. In this Review, we focus on the role of these extracellular vesicles (EVs) in BM formation and their promising application in the development of new BM therapeutic strategies.
脑转移（BM）是癌症晚期患者的常见并发症，与神经功能障碍、生活质量、预后和生存相关。BM 的治疗包括现有癌症治疗方法的联合应用，如手术、放疗、化疗、免疫治疗和靶向治疗。即便如此，BM 癌症患者的预后仍然较差，总生存率报告为 12 个月或更短。细胞间通讯在转移的发展中起着关键作用，因此，它不仅被广泛研究以更好地了解转移过程，还被进一步开发新的治疗策略。外泌体作为细胞间通讯的关键因素出现，是潜在的治疗靶点、药物传递系统（DDS）或生物标志物。在这篇综述中，我们重点关注这些细胞外囊泡（EVs）在 BM 形成中的作用及其在开发新的 BM 治疗策略中的应用前景。
