Exosomes, acting as vital mediators of cellular communication and carriers of diverse biomolecular cargo, are increasingly documented as important participants in cancer pathogenesis and progression. When it comes to triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a disease that comes with significant therapeutic hurdles, finding new, non-invasive biomarkers is absolutely crucial. This systematic review considers recent research, focusing on the role of exosomal biomarkers in diagnosing, predicting prognosis and foreseeing treatment response in TNBC patients. After an extensive search across PubMed and Google Scholar, we found many exosomal molecules showing great promise for early detection, tracking disease progression and tailoring treatments. This truly highlights liquid biopsy as a valuable, minimally invasive tool. However, there are still some big challenges to treat. These include variations in methodology, the sheer diversity of samples studied and the prevalence of research in specific populations, all of which make it harder to generalize findings. It has been suggested that future research must prioritize protocol standardization, achieving a deeper understanding of underlying biological mechanisms and, crucially, developing combinatorial biomarker panels. Ultimately, the successful translation of exosomal biomarkers into clinical practice will significantly advance personalized medicine in TNBC, leading to improved patient outcomes and an enhanced quality of life.
Loukopoulou et al. (2026) studied this question.