Abstract
Cancer-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are capable of modifying the tumor microenvironment and promoting tumor progression. Ovarian cancer (OvCa) is a lethal malignancy that preferentially spreads through the abdominal cavity. Thus, the secretion of such vesicles into the peritoneal fluid could be a determinant factor in the dissemination and behavior of this disease. We designed a prospective observational study to assess the impact of peritoneal fluid–derived sEVs (PFD-sEVs) in OvCa clinical outcome. For this purpose, 2 patient cohorts were enrolled: patients with OvCa who underwent a diagnostic or cytoreductive surgery and nononcological patients, who underwent abdominal surgery for benign gynecological conditions and acted as the control group. Systematic extraction of PFD-sEVs from surgical samples enabled us to observe significant quantitative and qualitative differences associated with cancer diagnosis, disease stage, and platinum chemosensitivity. Proteomic profiling of PFD-sEVs led to the identification of molecular pathways and proteins of interest and to the biological validation of S100A4 and STX5. In addition, unsupervised analysis of PFD-sEV proteomic profiles in high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas (HGSOCs) revealed 2 clusters with different outcomes in terms of overall survival. In conclusion, comprehensive characterization of PFD-sEV content provided a prognostic value with potential implications in HGSOC clinical management.
Authors
Miguel Quiralte, Arantzazu Barquín, Mónica Yagüe-Fernández, Paloma Navarro, Tatiana P. Grazioso, Elena Sevillano-Fernández, Juan F. Rodriguez-Moreno, Alejandra Balarezo-Saldivar, Héctor Peinado, Elena Izquierdo, Carlos Millán, Irene López-Carrasco, Mario Prieto, Rodrigo Madurga, Ismael Fernández-Miranda, Sergio Ruiz-Llorente, Jesús García-Donas
Figure 8
Graphs depicting results related to the validation of targets of interest.
Copyright © 2025 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)