Expression of chemokine receptor CXCR4 correlates with progression of pancreatic cancer
14018 Background: Despite many pathophysiological analyses, the process of tumor dissemination of pancreatic cancer remains vague. In diverse other tumor entities, expression of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 has been linked to tumor dissemination and poor prognosis. Therefore, we evaluated, if the expression of this chemokine receptor exerts similar effects in human pancreatic cancer. Methods: Expression of CXCR4 was evaluated in 120 patients with histologically confirmed pancreatic cancer and eight different pancreatic cancer cell lines. Expression intensities of tumor samples were correlated with both, tumor and patients characteristics. Results: Human pancreatic cancer samples and cell l…