Extracellular vesicles in renal cell carcinoma: A review of the current landscape and future directions.

Liquid biopsy, a minimally invasive biopsy method that uses patient body fluids (e.g., blood, urine, or saliva), is considered a useful biomarker for early diagnosis, monitoring of tumor progression, and evaluating treatment efficacy. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), a diverse group of particles classified according to their size and biosynthetic method, are liquid bilayer structures released from various cells. EVs contain specific information, such as DNA, RNA, and proteins derived from released cells. Consequently, they have attracted attention for use in liquid biopsy. EV-derived microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are useful biomarkers for cancer diagnosis, tumor progression, and drug treatment resistance. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC), one of the most common type of urological cancer, accounts for 90% of all renal tumors. In contrast to prostate cancer, for which a tumor marker has been established, clinically applicable and useful biomarkers remain to be established for RCC. EV-derived miRNAs and lncRNAs have been identified as useful biomarkers in several types of carcinoma for determining the diagnosis and predicting tumor progression, and drug treatment resistance in patients with RCC. The development and identification of biomarkers to diagnose and predict tumor progression in RCC will improve the management and prognosis of patients with RCC. This review focuses on EV-derived miRNAs and lncRNAs and discusses the currently available EV-based biomarkers in RCC and their future prospects.