Editorial
Copyright ©2008 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 14, 2008; 14(30): 4721-4724
Published online Aug 14, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.4721
Chemokine receptor CXCR4-prognostic factor for gastrointestinal tumors
Carl C Schimanski, Peter R Galle, Markus Moehler
Carl C Schimanski, Peter R Galle, Markus Moehler, First Department of Internal Medicine of Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz 55101, Germany
Author contributions: Schimanski CC, Galle PR, and Moehler M contributed equally to this work, analyzed the literature, and wrote the paper.
Correspondence to: Dr. Markus Moehler, First Department of Internal Medicine, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Langenbeckstrasse 1, Mainz 55101, Germany. moehler@mail.uni-mainz.de
Telephone: +49-6131-177134 Fax: +49-6131-173438
Received: April 10, 2008
Revised: May 23, 2008
Accepted: May 30, 2008
Published online: August 14, 2008
Abstract

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-1α, and SDF-1β”. CXCR4 expression correlated with dissemination of diverse gastrointestinal malignomas. The CXCR4 ligand SDF-1α might act as “chemorepellent” while SDF-1β might act as "chemorepellent" for CTLs, inducing tumor rejection. The paracrine expression of SDF-1α was furthermore closely associated with neoangiogenesis. CXCR4 and its ligands influence the dissemination, immune rejection, and neoangiogenesis of human gastrointestinal cancers. Inhibition of CXCR4 might be an interesting therapeutic option.

Keywords: CXC chemokine receptor-4, CXCL12, Stromal-derived-factor-1, Cancer, Malignoma