Hongpei Wu, Bojun Bao, Hui Cong, Jinxia Liu, Feng Jiang, Wenkai Ni, Lishuai Qu, Cuihua Lu, Runzhou Ni and Mingbing Xiao*
As the leading cause of morbidity and cancer related-death worldwide, pancreatic cancer poses a terrible threat to human health. Since therapeutic choices are limited at the advanced stage, screening and early diagnostic tools are indispensable for a better prognosis. Exosomes are nanovesicles which contain various biomolecules, such as nucleic acids, proteins and lipids. Besides, Exosomes are recognized as potential tools which can be used in tumor diagnosis and therapy, for they are involved in a multitude of pathological and biological processes, mainly for the roles they play in intercellular communication. Here, we will summarize the function of exosomes, mainly in pancreatic cancer (proliferation, metastasis, drug resistance and immune reaction in tumor microenvironment), and importantly, the potential functions of exosomes are also emphasized. Exosomes are not only biomarkers, but they can also work as a tool which is helpful for therapeutic armamentarium in pancreatic cancer. Besides, current challenges which may obstruct the clinical application of exosomes are also discussed in this paper. In-depth researches on the functions of exosomes in pancreatic cancer are still required.
