Figure 1.

Exosomal rare RNA species as biomarkers in cancer patients’ samples. Exosomes are released by cancer cells in the extracellular environment with the purpose of facilitating communication with neighboring or distant cells. The vesicles can cross the blood barrier and enter the circulation; therefore, liquid biopsies conducted by means of blood, plasma or serum samples can become reliable diagnostic samples or even predictors of potential therapeutic targets. The context of exosomes (represented in the figure by rare RNAs) is the actual substrate for differentiation of patients in terms of health status.