Cancer-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) contain various
cancer-associated molecules, such as mutated or overexpressed
oncoproteins,
glycoproteins, mRNAs, various non-coding RNAs and
DNA fragments. They have been shown to propagate phenotypic traits, such as drug resistance, increased proliferation rate, invasiveness and stemness across
cancer cells and to mediate
cancer-induced immunosuppression. Therefore,
cancer-derived EVs have gained increasing attention as
cancer biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Unlike
circulating tumor cells they are highly abundant in biofluids and, on the contrary to single-molecule circulating
biomarkers, they protect their molecular cargo against degradation and may carry molecular signatures associated with specific phenotypes. Herein, we summarize studies investigating EVs as
biomarkers in
breast cancer and propose scenarios for various clinical applications of EV-based
biomarkers in the management of
breast cancer. Furthermore, we provide an overview of recent findings regarding the
cancer-promoting effects of
breast cancer-derived EVs and discuss opportunities for blocking EV-mediated signaling as a therapeutic strategy for
breast cancer.