Exosomes as a platform for ‘liquid biopsy’ in pancreatic cancer

The dismal prognosis of pancreatic cancer has motivated research into identifying non-invasive ‘liquid biopsy’ biomarkers for early detection when treatment is most effective. Recently, exosomes—nanoscale membranous vesicles shed from tumour cells and which can be found circulating in the blood (and most bodily fluids)—have been discovered to contain a wealth of proteomic and genetic information, showing promise for pre-symptomatic screening and monitoring of disease. Here we examine recent findings highlighting the diagnostic value of exosomes in pancreatic cancer as well as the emerging use of lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technologies aiming to streamline exosome isolation and analysis. TOPICAL REVIEW 2017