Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an epithelial malignancy situated in the posterolateral nasopharynx. NPC poses grave concerns in Southeast Asia due to its late diagnosis. Together with resistance to standard treatment combining chemo- and radiotherapy, NPC presents high metastatic rates and common recurrence. Despite advancements in immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and cytotoxic-T-lymphocytes (CTLs)-based cellular therapy, the exhaustive T cell profile and other signs of immunosuppression within the NPC tumour microenvironment (TME) remain as concerns to immunotherapy response. Exosomes, extracellular vesicles of 30–150 nm in diameter, are increasingly studied and linked to tumourigenesis in oncology. These bilipid-membrane-bound vesicles are packaged with a variety of signalling molecules, mediating cell–cell communications. Within the TME, exosomes can originate from tumour, immune, or stromal cells. Although there are studies on tumour-derived exosomes (TEX) in NPC and their effects on tumour processes like angiogenesis, metastasis, therapeutic resistance, there is a lack of research on their involvement in immune evasion. In this review, we aim to enhance the comprehension of how NPC TEX contribute to cellular immunosuppression. Furthermore, considering the detectability of TEX in bodily fluids, we will also discuss the potential development of TEX-related biomarkers for liquid biopsy in NPC as this could facilitate early diagnosis and prognostication of the disease.
鼻咽癌是一种位于鼻咽后外侧壁的上皮性恶性肿瘤。在东南亚地区，由于诊断较晚，鼻咽癌引发严重关注。加之对放化疗联合标准治疗的耐药性，鼻咽癌呈现出高转移率和常见复发特征。尽管免疫检查点抑制剂和基于细胞毒性T淋巴细胞的细胞疗法取得进展，但鼻咽癌肿瘤微环境中耗竭性T细胞表型及其他免疫抑制迹象仍是影响免疫治疗应答的关键问题。外泌体作为直径30-150纳米的细胞外囊泡，在肿瘤学领域日益受到关注并与肿瘤发生密切相关。这些由双层脂膜包裹的囊泡装载多种信号分子，介导细胞间通讯。在肿瘤微环境中，外泌体可来源于肿瘤细胞、免疫细胞或基质细胞。虽然已有研究探讨鼻咽癌肿瘤源性外泌体及其在血管生成、转移、治疗抵抗等肿瘤进程中的作用，但对其参与免疫逃逸机制的研究尚显不足。本综述旨在深化对鼻咽癌肿瘤源性外泌体介导细胞免疫抑制机制的理解。此外，鉴于肿瘤源性外泌体在体液中可被检测的特性，我们将探讨其作为液体活检生物标志物的开发潜力，这有望促进鼻咽癌的早期诊断和预后评估。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家