In cancer, human cells lose the ability to properly control the series of events that occur constantly during cell growth and division, including protein expression, stability, and dynamics. Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are key molecules in these events, constitutively expressed at high levels and could furthermore be induced by the response to cancer-induced stress. In tumor cells, Hsps have been shown to be implicated in the regulation of apoptosis, immune responses, angiogenesis and metastasis; in some cases, they can be overexpressed and dysregulated, representing important cancer hallmarks. In the past few years, it has been demonstrated that Hsps can be released by tumor cells through several secreting pathways, including the extracellular vesicles (EVs), thus modulating the tumor microenvironment as well as long-distance intercellular communication and metastatization. In this review, we discuss the role of extracellular Hsps in cancer, with a particular interest in Hsps in EVs. We would also like to highlight the importance of fully understanding of the role of extracellular Hsps released by EVs and encourage further research in this field the use of Hsps as early cancer biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

在癌症中，人类细胞失去了正确控制细胞生长和分裂过程中不断发生的一系列事件的能力，包括蛋白质表达、稳定性和动力学。热休克蛋白 (Hsps) 是这些事件中的关键分子，以高水平组成型表达，并且可以通过对癌症诱发的压力的反应进一步诱导。在肿瘤细胞中，Hsps 已被证明与细胞凋亡、免疫反应、血管生成和转移的调节有关；在某些情况下，它们可能会过度表达和失调，成为重要的癌症标志。在过去的几年中，已经证明 Hsps 可以通过几种分泌途径被肿瘤细胞释放，包括细胞外囊泡（EVs），从而调节肿瘤微环境以及长距离细胞间通讯和转移。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了细胞外 Hsps 在癌症中的作用，特别关注 EV 中的 Hsps。我们还想强调充分了解 EV 释放的细胞外 Hsps 作用的重要性，并鼓励在该领域进一步研究使用 Hsps 作为早期癌症生物标志物和治疗靶点。