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Figure 1. Exosomes and some of their properties with their potential use as diagnostic tools:this figure illustrates tumor cells centrally surrounded by exosomes, including tumor-derived exosomes (TEX) and some of their properties as prescribed above applicable in the clinical routine soon. It also shows the diagnostic value and applicability in the clinical routine not yet determined. For example, TEX participate in the regulation of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), TEX carrying damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) may promote cancer progression through stimulation of antiviral pathways, exosomes accumulate in the tumor microenvironment (TME), and TEX promote immunomodulation. Some typical exosome analyses have been included: TEX cause a decrease in CD69 in T-cells by flow cytometry (lower left), nanoparticle analyses by Zetaviewer before and after primary radiochemotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) (upper right) and the influence of TEX on the protein expression profile of p53 in B-cells by dot blots (lower right)