Role of extracellular vesicles in the progression, diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer (Review)

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) enclose a myriad of proteins and nucleic acids that are released in the extracellular milieu of cells through EVs. These secreted molecules serve as signaling factors that can alter the biological characteristics of tumor cells. Several studies have suggested that EVs are associated with tumor proliferation, metastasis and microenvironmental regulation in thyroid carcinoma (TC). The biomolecules in EVs can serve as differential diagnostic biomarkers for TC. Moreover, EVs derived from natural killer (NK) cells can be developed as potential immunotherapeutic agents, since they can actively target and kill tumor cells in TC. Recent years have witnessed a steep rise in the number of TC cases, and thus, accurate diagnosis and novel TC treatment strategies are being actively explored. The present review discusses the recent research investigations on EVs as far as the biological, clinical diagnosis and treatment of primary TC tumors are concerned. In addition, the new opportunities and challenges encountered in the practical applications of EVs in thyroid carcinoma are outlined. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Characteristics of EVs 3. Role of EVs in TC progression 4. Role of EVs in TC diagnosis 5. Potential applications of EVs in the treatment of TC 6. Conclusions and future perspectives

Identification of DNA Repair-Related Genes Predicting Clinical Outcome for Thyroid Cancer

“…Further endeavors are required to realize satisfactory prognostic results in this regard, which remains daunting. Clinical management highlights the significance of timely and valid identification and forecast of prognostic results, so as to achieve personalized therapies [ 19 , 20 ]. The usage of prognosis models is helpful to guide decision making clinically and is pivotal for precise medical treatment [ 21 , 22 ].…”

BRAF^V600E Induction in Thyrocytes Triggers Important Changes in the miRNAs Content and the Populations of Extracellular Vesicles Released in Thyroid Tumor Microenvironment

“…More and more studies suggest that extracellular vesicles (EVs) are important actors in tumor progression, as therapeutic tools, or as biomarkers, including in thyroid cancer [9][10][11]14]. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have studied EVs produced in vivo within the thyroid tissue and developing thyroid tumor, thus in a complex and native environment.…”

Artificial intelligence assisted diagnosis of early tc markers and its application

“…Clinically, when TC cannot be identified by ultrasound or FNA, molecular testing will be initiated [ 80 ], including the measurement of DNA mutations [ 81 ]. Previous tests of cancer-associated DNA mutation have focused only on the DNA mutation types with high prevalence but ignored the rare variants, thereby leading to misdiagnosis [ 82 ].…”