Chemokine networks regulate a variety of cellular, physiological, and immune processes. These normal functions can become appropriated by cancer cells to facilitate a more hospitable niche for aberrant cells by enhancing growth, proliferation, and metastasis. This is especially true in pancreatic cancer, where chemokine signaling is a vital component in the development of the supportive tumor microenvironment and the signaling between the cancer cells and surrounding stromal cells. Although expression patterns vary among cancer types, the chemokine receptor CXCR4 has been implicated in nearly every major malignancy and plays a prominent role in pancreatic cancer development and progression. This receptor, in conjunction with its primary chemokine ligand CXCL12, promotes pancreatic cancer development, invasion, and metastasis through the management of the tumor microenvironment via complex crosstalk with other pathways. Thus, CXCR4 likely contributes to the poor prognoses observed in patients afflicted with this malignancy. Recent exploration of combination therapies with CXCR4 antagonists have demonstrated improved outcomes, and abolishing the contribution of this pathway may prove crucial to effectively treat pancreatic cancer at both the primary tumor and metastases.

趋化因子网络调节各种细胞，生理和免疫过程。癌细胞可以利用这些正常功能，通过增强生长，增殖和转移来促进异常细胞的更友好的生态位。在胰腺癌中尤其如此，其中趋化因子信号传导是支持性肿瘤微环境的发展以及癌细胞与周围基质细胞之间信号传导的重要组成部分。尽管表达类型因癌症类型而异，但趋化因子受体CXCR4几乎涉及所有主要恶性肿瘤，并在胰腺癌的发生和发展中起着重要作用。该受体与其主要的趋化因子配体CXCL12共同促进胰腺癌的发展，侵袭，通过与其他途径的复杂串扰来控制肿瘤微环境来转移和转移肿瘤。因此，CXCR4可能有助于在患有这种恶性肿瘤的患者中观察到不良的预后。最近与CXCR4拮抗剂联合治疗的探索已显示出改善的结果，并且取消该途径的作用可能证明对于有效治疗原发灶和转移灶的胰腺癌至关重要。