The following is a summary of “Extracellular vesicle-associated miRNAs in triple-negative breast cancer: From tumor biology to clinical relevance,” published in the December 2023 issue of Oncology by Berti et al.

Breast cancer stands as a multifaceted disease with varying characteristics, being the foremost common cancer and a leading cause of female cancer-related fatalities worldwide. The intricacies within tumors significantly impact their progression and treatment outcomes, with divergent molecular subtypes showcasing distinct prognostic outcomes and reactions to treatments. Among these, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), comprising about 10-20% of all breast cancer diagnoses, emerges as a particularly aggressive subtype, posing significant clinical challenges. 

Treatment options encompass systemic chemotherapy and targeted therapies, such as PARP and PD-L1 inhibitors, selectively applied to eligible patients. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), pivotal regulatory molecules with non-coding functions, play an increasingly recognized role in TNBC’s tumor genesis. These molecules are found within cells and released into bodily fluids encapsulated within extracellular vesicles (EVs). Recent findings underscore that EVs-associated miRNAs (EVs-miRNAs), transferred from parent cells to recipient cells, orchestrate crucial cell-to-cell communications. Their stability and presence in diverse bodily fluids suggest that EVs-miRNAs could mirror the epigenomic composition of their originating tumors, significantly contributing to tumorigenesis, similar to their intracellular counterparts. This review aims to consolidate existing knowledge on EVs-miRNAs in TNBC, emphasizing their involvement in modulating mRNA targets associated with tumor characteristics and their potential as promising biomarkers in liquid biopsies for clinical application.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0024320523009670