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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Nov 15, 2021; 13(11): 1561-1598
Published online Nov 15, 2021. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v13.i11.1561
Extracellular vesicles: General features and usefulness in diagnosis and therapeutic management of colorectal cancer
Aurelien Mammes, Jennifer Pasquier, Olivier Mammes, Marc Conti, Richard Douard, Sylvain Loric
Aurelien Mammes, Jennifer Pasquier, Marc Conti, Sylvain Loric, INSERM UMR-938, Cancer Biology and Therapeutics Unit, Saint-Antoine Research Center, Saint Antoine University Hospital, Paris 75012, France
Olivier Mammes, Richard Douard, UCBM, Necker University Hospital, Paris 75015, France
Marc Conti, Metabolism Research Unit, Integracell SAS, Longjumeau 91160, France
Richard Douard, Gastrointestinal Surgery Department, Clinique Bizet, Paris 75016, France
Author contributions: Mammes A and Pasquier J equally contributed to the manuscript; Mammes A, Pasquier J and Loric S wrote the paper; Mammes O, Conti M and Douard R extensively reviewed the manuscript; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Sylvain Loric, MD, PhD, Professor, INSERM UMR-938, Cancer Biology and Therapeutics Unit, Saint-Antoine Research Center, Saint Antoine University Hospital, Bâtiment Kourilsky, 184 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Paris 75012, France. sylvain.loric@inserm.fr
Received: February 22, 2021
Peer-review started: February 22, 2021
First decision: June 16, 2021
Revised: June 29, 2021
Accepted: September 7, 2021
Article in press: September 7, 2021
Published online: November 15, 2021
Processing time: 263 Days and 1.7 Hours
Abstract

In the world, among all type of cancers, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed in males and the second in females. In most of cases, (RP1) patients’ prognosis limitation with malignant tumors can be attributed to delayed diagnosis of the disease. Identification of patients with early-stage disease leads to more effective therapeutic interventions. Therefore, new screening methods and further innovative treatment approaches are mandatory as they may lead to an increase in progression-free and overall survival rates. For the last decade, the interest in extracellular vesicles (EVs) research has exponentially increased as EVs generation appears to be a universal feature of every cell that is strongly involved in many mechanisms of cell-cell communication either in physiological or pathological situations. EVs can cargo biomolecules, such as lipids, proteins, nucleic acids and generate transmission signal through the intercellular transfer of their content. By this mechanism, tumor cells can recruit and modify the adjacent and systemic microenvironment to support further invasion and dissemination. This review intends to cover the most recent literature on the role of EVs production in colorectal normal and cancer tissues. Specific attention is paid to the use of EVs for early CRC diagnosis, follow-up, and prognosis as EVs have come into the spotlight of research as a high potential source of ‘liquid biopsies’. The use of EVs as new targets or nanovectors as drug delivery systems for CRC therapy is also summarized.

Keywords: Extracellular vesicles; Colorectal cancer; Diagnostic; Prognosis; Vector; Therapy

Core Tip: New efficient screening and treatment approaches are strongly mandatory to increase colorectal cancer (CRC) patients’ prognosis. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) represent a promising mean to diagnose and treat colorectal cancers. This review summarizes the most recent literature on the use of EVs in the management of CRC.