Proteomic signature of plasma-derived exosomes in different stages of melanoma patients.

Exosomes, extracellular vesicles of 30-150 nm, are released by normal and tumor cells. These nanovesicles play a major role in cell communication and can be found in biological fluids as carriers of biomarkers. Tumor exosomes can inhibit immune responses, mediate drug resistance and transform mesenchymal stem cells. In contrast to healthy donors, cancer patients’ plasma contain higher levels of exosomes. Cutaneous melanoma is a very aggressive cancer whose incidence has rapidly increased worldwide and the prognosis is generally poor, given the propensity of melanoma cells to spread to distant sites while evading immune system control.We investigated potential differences between plasma exosomes derived from healthy donors (HD) and melanoma patients at 0-I, II, and III-IV stages of disease.