Sykaras Alexandros G, Christofidis Konstantinos, Politi Ekaterini, Theocharis Stamatios
First Department of Pathology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.
Department of Cytopathology, Aretaieion Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece.
Cancers (Basel). 2022 Mar 29;14(7):1733. doi: 10.3390/cancers14071733.
Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the main causes of cancer-related death among women. In the last decade, the incidence of EC is on the rise, and the relative 5-year survival remains unchanged. This creates a dire need for new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches that can only result from a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease. In this direction, exosomes are under heavy research, with two main aims: to identify the potential diagnostic and prognostic markers and to develop technologies based on their use as therapeutic vectors targeting EC cells. Exosomes are widely available in all bodily fluids and are sources of ideal biomarkers for liquid biopsies. They are extracellular vesicles containing DNA, RNA, lipids, and proteins, which they transfer between cells, serving multiple functions and being implicated in both the physiological processes and the pathogenesis of diseases. Of all the biomolecules contained in exosomes, microRNAs (miRNAs) seem to have the most clinical utility in the diagnosis and treatment of EC. Exosomal miRNAs mediate the communication between EC cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and have a pivotal role in the tumor cells' proliferation, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), and the formation of a tumor microenvironment. They participate in many processes that are tied to carcinogenesis and cancer progression, and they are therefore considered as attractive therapeutic targets. Here, we review the functions of exosomes in EC, focusing on potential biomarkers of diagnostic and prognostic significance or potential therapeutic use.
子宫内膜癌（EC）是女性癌症相关死亡的主要原因之一。在过去十年中，EC的发病率呈上升趋势，而相对5年生存率保持不变。这迫切需要新的诊断和治疗方法，而这只能源于对该疾病发病机制的更深入理解。在这个方向上，外泌体正在进行大量研究，主要有两个目标：识别潜在的诊断和预后标志物，并基于其作为靶向EC细胞的治疗载体的用途开发技术。外泌体在所有体液中广泛存在，是液体活检理想的生物标志物来源。它们是含有DNA、RNA、脂质和蛋白质的细胞外囊泡，在细胞之间传递，发挥多种功能，并参与生理过程和疾病的发病机制。在外泌体所含的所有生物分子中，微小RNA（miRNA）似乎在EC的诊断和治疗中具有最大的临床应用价值。外泌体miRNA介导EC细胞、癌症相关成纤维细胞（CAF）和肿瘤相关巨噬细胞（TAM）之间的通讯，并在肿瘤细胞的增殖、上皮-间质转化（EMT）以及肿瘤微环境的形成中起关键作用。它们参与许多与致癌作用和癌症进展相关的过程，因此被认为是有吸引力的治疗靶点。在此，我们综述外泌体在EC中的功能，重点关注具有诊断和预后意义的潜在生物标志物或潜在治疗用途。
