Fig. 3
EV-RNA mediated crosstalk within tumors and between tumors and stroma modulating malignant behaviors of cancer cells. Cancer initiation, development and progression are attributed to sophisticated and multidirectional communication between various cells. Tumor-derived EV-RNAs can elicit oncogenic, prometastatic, proangiogenic and differentiated phenotypes of stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment or prometastatic niches. Tumor-derived EV-RNAs also drive normal and tumor cell subpopulations towards malignant phenotypes. EV-RNAs from cancer-reprogrammed stromal or normal cells also contribute to malignant behaviors of cancer cells, thereby affecting the growth, migration, invasion and survival of primary and metastatic cancer cells. Of note, EV-RNAs from normal cell can also restrain the malignant behaviors of cancer cells.