The roles of exosomes in cancer drug resistance and its therapeutic application

Exosomes are a category of extracellular vesicles with a size ranging from 40 to 160 nm, which can be secreted by multiple cells in the tumor microenvironment. Exosomes serve as communicators in regulating biological functions and pathological processes, including drug response. Through transporting the cargo such as protein or nucleic acid, exosomes can modulate drug sensitivity via multiple mechanisms. Additionally, exosomes can be deployed as a delivery system to treat cancer due to their high-efficient loading capacity and tolerable toxicity. Recent studies have demonstrated the high efficacy of exosomes in cancer therapy. Herein, we conduct this review to summarize the mechanism of exosome-mediated drug resistance and the therapeutic potential of exosomes in cancer.