Immunohistochemical Expression of CXCR4 on Breast Cancer and Its Clinical Significance

• Published in: Analytical cellular pathology (Amsterdam) Vol. 2015; no. 2015; pp. 1 - 6
• Main Authors: Watanabe, Maria Angélica Ehara, de Oliveira, Karen Brajão, Losi Guembarovski, Roberta, Banin Hirata, Bruna Karina, Oliveira, Carlos Eduardo Coral de, Okuyama Kishima, Marina, Amarante, Marla Karine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 01.01.2015; Wiley
• Subjects: Breast Neoplasms - metabolism; Female; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Receptors, CXCR4 - metabolism; Review
• ISSN: 2210-7177; 2210-7185
• DOI: 10.1155/2015/891020

Many tumor cells express chemokines and chemokine receptors, and, for this reason, these molecules can affect the tumor progression. It is known that breast cancer is a complex and heterogeneous neoplasia comprising distinct diseases, histological characteristics, and clinical outcomes. The most studied role for CXCL12 chemokine and its receptor CXCR4 in breast cancer pathogenesis is the metastasis event, although several reports have demonstrated its involvement in other processes, such as angiogenesis and tumor growth. It has been found that CXCR4 is required for breast cancer cell migration to other sites such as lung, bone, and lymph nodes, which express high levels of CXCL12 chemokine. Therefore, CXCR4 is being considered a prognostic marker in breast cancer. Within this context, this review summarizes established studies involving expression of CXCR4 on breast cancer, focusing on its clinical significance.