Abbreviation	Full name and brief functional description
Akt	Protein kinase B; serine/threonine kinase that regulates cell survival, proliferation, metabolism, and treatment resistance.
ALIX	ALG-2-interacting protein X; ESCRT-associated protein involved in endosomal membrane remodeling and EV biogenesis.
ATP	Adenosine triphosphate; principal cellular energy carrier and phosphate donor.
Bcl-2	B-cell lymphoma 2; anti-apoptotic protein that preserves mitochondrial integrity and promotes cell survival.
CAFs	Cancer-associated fibroblasts; activated stromal cells that regulate extracellular-matrix remodeling, tumor growth, angiogenesis, immunity, and treatment response.
CAIX	Carbonic anhydrase IX; HIF-regulated enzyme involved in cellular pH control and commonly used as a tissue marker of tumor hypoxia.
circRNA	Circular RNA; covalently closed RNA molecule that can regulate gene expression by interacting with miRNAs, proteins, or transcriptional machinery.
CSC	Cancer stem cell; tumor-cell subpopulation with self-renewal, differentiation, tumor-initiating, and treatment-resistant properties.
EGFR	Epidermal growth factor receptor; receptor tyrosine kinase that regulates epithelial-cell proliferation, survival, migration, and differentiation.
EMT	Epithelial-mesenchymal transition; cellular program through which epithelial cells acquire mesenchymal features associated with motility, invasion, plasticity, and treatment resistance.
EV	Extracellular vesicle; lipid-bilayer-enclosed particle released by cells that can transfer proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and metabolites between cells.
FDA	Food and Drug Administration; United States regulatory agency responsible for evaluating drugs, biological products, medical devices, and diagnostic tests.
GAS5	Growth arrest-specific 5; stress-responsive lncRNA that regulates cell growth, apoptosis, and other context-dependent cellular responses.
H19	H19 imprinted maternally expressed transcript; lncRNA involved in developmental growth, differentiation, and stress-responsive gene regulation.
KRAS	Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog; small GTPase that transmits growth-factor signals controlling proliferation, survival, and metabolism.
lncRNA	Long non-coding RNA; RNA transcript longer than approximately 200 nucleotides that can regulate chromatin organization, transcription, RNA processing, and signaling.
MALAT1	Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1; nuclear-enriched lncRNA involved in transcriptional regulation and RNA processing.
METTL3	Methyltransferase-like 3; catalytic component of the principal N6-methyladenosine RNA methyltransferase complex.
miRNA	MicroRNA; short non-coding RNA that generally suppresses gene expression by promoting target-mRNA degradation or inhibiting translation.
MISEV	Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles; consensus guidelines for EV nomenclature, separation, characterization, and functional studies.
MMP2/MMP9	Matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9; extracellular proteases that degrade basement-membrane and extracellular-matrix components, facilitating tissue remodeling, angiogenesis, and tumor invasion.
mRNA	Messenger RNA; RNA transcript that carries protein-coding information from DNA to the translational machinery.
mTOR	Mechanistic target of rapamycin; serine/threonine kinase that integrates nutrient, energy, growth-factor, and stress signals to regulate growth, metabolism, protein synthesis, and autophagy.
NF-κB	Nuclear factor kappa B; family of transcription factors that regulates inflammation, immune responses, cell survival, and adaptation to cellular stress.
NSCLC	Non-small cell lung cancer; major group of lung cancers that includes adenocarcinoma, squamous-cell carcinoma, and large-cell carcinoma.
PD-1	Programmed cell death protein 1; inhibitory immune-checkpoint receptor that limits T-cell activation following engagement by PD-L1 or PD-L2.
PD-L1	Programmed death-ligand 1; immune-checkpoint ligand that suppresses T-cell activity by binding PD-1 and can facilitate tumor immune escape.
PHD1/2	Prolyl hydroxylase domain proteins 1 and 2; oxygen-dependent enzymes that promote HIF hydroxylation and degradation under oxygen-replete conditions.
PI3K	Phosphoinositide 3-kinase; lipid kinase that activates signaling pathways controlling cell growth, survival, metabolism, migration, and vesicular trafficking.
PKM2	Pyruvate kinase M2; glycolytic enzyme that also performs context-dependent signaling and transcriptional functions.
PTEN	Phosphatase and tensin homolog; tumor-suppressive phosphatase that restrains PI3K-Akt signaling and regulates cell growth, survival, and migration.
ROS	Reactive oxygen species; reactive oxygen-containing molecules that participate in redox signaling but can cause oxidative damage when excessively accumulated.
SCLC	Small cell lung cancer; aggressive neuroendocrine lung cancer characterized by rapid growth, early dissemination, and frequent treatment relapse.
sEV	Small extracellular vesicle; operational term based on physical characteristics, generally including particle size, rather than biogenetic origin.
SOCS3	Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3; negative regulator of cytokine-mediated JAK-STAT signaling.
TAMs	Tumor-associated macrophages; macrophages within the tumor microenvironment that regulate inflammation, immune suppression, angiogenesis, invasion, and treatment response.
TGF-β	Transforming growth factor beta; multifunctional cytokine that regulates growth, differentiation, extracellular-matrix production, immune activity, and EMT.
TME	Tumor microenvironment; cellular and extracellular environment surrounding tumor cells, including immune and stromal cells, blood vessels, extracellular matrix, and soluble factors.
TNF-α	Tumor necrosis factor alpha; inflammatory cytokine that regulates immune activation, cell survival, apoptosis, and tissue inflammation.
TSG101	Tumor susceptibility gene 101; ESCRT-I component involved in endosomal cargo sorting and commonly detected as an EV-associated protein.
VEGF	Vascular endothelial growth factor; secreted growth factor that promotes endothelial-cell survival, vascular permeability, and new blood-vessel formation.
WDR5	WD repeat-containing protein 5; scaffold protein in chromatin-regulatory complexes that contributes to histone modification and transcriptional regulation.
Wnt	Wingless-related signaling pathway; developmental signaling system that regulates cell fate, proliferation, differentiation, stemness, and tissue homeostasis.