Exosomes displaying native EGF enhance doxorubicin’s therapeutic efficacy and reduce cardiotoxicity

Our findings demonstrate that tumor-derived exosomes engineered with EGF on their surface enable targeted drug delivery to tumors with high EGFR expression. Although the exosomes modestly increase cell proliferation in vitro, the EGF-Exo-DOX formulation exhibits enhanced tumor accumulation relative to the heart, minimal cardiac uptake, and shows no tumorigenic effects in vivo. Compared to Lipo-DOX, a widely used clinical formulation of liposomal DOX in China, EGF-Exo-DOX demonstrates superior cellular uptake, greater induction of tumor cell apoptosis, and improved anti-tumor efficacy. These results highlight the potential of engineered exosomes as a targeted drug delivery platform for patients with EGFR-overexpressing tumors.