New proteomic signature in circulating extracellular vesicles from tumor-draining and peripheral veins of patients with lung adenocarcinoma

The identification of noninvasive prognostic biomarkers for monitoring relapse in patients with locally advanced lung cancer remains a primary objective. Tumor-draining vein (TDV) plasma samples are known to be enriched in cancer biomarkers compared to peripheral vein (PV) samples. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the proteomic profile of extracellular vesicles (EVs) from TDV and PV plasma samples in patients undergoing surgery for lung adenocarcinoma. A comparison with proteomic analyzes from tumor and non-tumor tissues was performed in parallel. Purified EVs from TDV and PV plasma samples were characterized for size distribution and concentration using nanoparticles tracking analysis. Proteomic profiling of TDV-derived and PV-derived EVs was performed using mass spectrometry (nanoLC-MS/MS) analysis, as the proteomic profile of tumor tissue and adjacent non-tumoral counterparts. Twenty patients operated for a lung adenocarcinoma were enrolled.