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Updated: Aug 26, 2025
Sequencing Small Non-coding RNA from Formalin-fixed Tissues and Serum-derived Exosomes from Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer Patients
Published on: November 19, 2019
Extracellular vesicles from biological fluids as potential markers in castration resistant prostate cancer
Wendy W Y Choi1, Catherine Sánchez2, Jiao Jiao Li3,4
1Vancouver Prostate Centre, 2660 Oak St, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3Z6, Canada.
Purpose:
Extracellular vesicles (EV) secreted from cancer cells are present in various biological fluids, carrying distinctly different cellular components compared to normal cells, and have great potential to be used as markers for disease initiation, progression, and response to treatment. This under-utilised tool provides insights into a better understanding of prostate cancer.
Methods:
EV from serum and urine of healthy men and castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients were isolated and characterised by transmission electron microscopy, particle size analysis, and western blot. Proteomic and cholesterol liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analyses were conducted.
Results:
There was a successful enrichment of small EV/exosomes isolated from serum and urine. EV derived from biological fluids of CRPC patients had significant differences in composition when compared with those from healthy controls. Analysis of matched serum and urine samples from six prostate cancer patients revealed specific EV proteins common in both types of biological fluid for each patient.
Conclusion:
Some of the EV proteins identified from our analyses have potential to be used as CRPC markers. These markers may depict a pattern in cancer progression through non-invasive sample collection.
