1. The Relationship between Cancer and Exosomes

It has been found that in order for cancer cells to survive, they manipulate exosomes as a means to proliferate. The largest factor that cancer cells cause people to die is the metastasis.

Exosomes released from cancer cells send messages that demand angiogenesis, oxygen and nutrition for the cells to survive. Furthermore, they send a message to immune cells not to attack cancer cells, and then grow large in the body. It's an evil scheme that makes use of exosomes.

However, Mr. Ochiya has developed a strategy to suppress cancer metastasis by taking advantage of it.
His idea is that if we can contain the exosomes that spread cancer, we can limit cancer metastasis.

First, a special antibody is attached to the exosomes of cancer cells as a marker.

This makes it easy for immune cells to spot and eat the exosomes of cancer cells. It was confirmed in experiments involving mice that this mechanism reduces the metastasis of cancer cells by as much as 90%, which is a very surprising result. In addition, exosomes also lead to the detection of a cancer at its very early stage.

Actually, it has become clear that each type of cancer cell has differing types of microRNAs.

By understanding microRNAs—the message substance in exosomes—we can tell what kind of cancer has been born in the human body.

Mr. Ochiya applied these and developed a technology for detecting cancer by using just one drop of blood.

With just one drop of blood, we will soon be able to detect 13 different types of cancers, including prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, bladder cancer, and ovarian cancer.