Exosomes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Comprehensive Review of Current Research and Future Directions

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common form of liver cancer that is deadly and offers limited possible treatment options. This short review explored the role of exosomes (small vesicles released by cells) in HCC as either diagnostic or therapeutic possibilities. Exosomes facilitate tumour growth by carrying tumour-supportive material to promote angiogenesis and metastasis. At the same time, exosomes may serve as a tumour biomarker for early diagnosis or prognostic possibilities in HCC. In the future, exosomes may be used as targeted therapies for HCC patients by enabling engineered exosomes to deliver therapeutics to tumour cells with more specificity and lower side effects. Lastly, this review discussed exosome isolation and characterisation techniques, engineering engineered exosomes for therapeutics and clinical trials using exosomes as HCC treatment options. Many challenges remain, including scale of production and standardisation aspects; the future development of exosome therapeutics appears promising. This review underscores the importance of continuing research towards improving exosome technologies and using exosomes in combination therapies, as they may help develop safer and more efficient ways to improve HCC care.