Revolutionizing cancer diagnostics: The promise of exosome-based biosensors

Exosomes are a group of extracellular nanovesicles that are produced by all cells, including cancer cells. They carry the biological information of mother cells and can facilitate tumor growth. Another advantage of exosomes is their abundance in all body fluids such as saliva, urine, blood and peritoneal fluid. Therefore, identifying and isolating them as biomarkers is useful in early cancer detection. However, due to the limited concentration of exosomes in clinical samples and their interference with the internal environment, accurate identification and effective diagnosis of cancer cells faces problems. Therefore, there is a need to implement highly sensitive and specific biosensors to detect exosomes from cancer tumors in complex biological environments. In the present review, biosensors developed for the detection of colon, prostate, breast and bladder cancers are discussed. We discuss various sensing platforms, including electrochemical, optical, and microfluidic-based approaches, and their integration with exosome isolation and characterization techniques. Challenges and future directions in the field are also addressed, highlighting the potential of exosome-based biosensors to revolutionize cancer diagnostics and personalized medicine.