Chemokine receptor CXCR4-prognostic factor for gastrointestinal tumors

To review the implication of CXCR4 for gastrointestinal cancer, a Pubmed analysis was performed in order to evaluate the relevance of CXCR4 and its ligands for gastrointestinal cancers. Search terms applied were cancer, malignoma, esophageal, gastric, colon, colorectal, hepatic, pancreatic, CXCR4, SDF-1 alpha, and SDF-10 beta, CXCR4 expression correlated with dissemination of diverse gastrointestinal malignomas. The CXCR4 ligand SDF-1 alpha might act as chemorepellent while SDF-1 beta might act as chemorepellent for CTLs, inducing tumor rejection. The paracrine expression of SDF-1 alpha was furthermore closely associated with neciangiogenesis. CXCR4 and its ligands influence the dissemination, immune rejection, and neciangiogenesis of human gastrointestinal cancers. Inhibition of CXCR4 might be an interesting therapeutic option. (C) 2008 The WJG Press. All rights reserved.