title: CXC chemokines and chemokine receptors in gastric cancer: from basic findings towards therapeutic targeting.
abstract: Gastric cancer is the fourth most common cancer, and the second-highest cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Despite extensive research to identify novel diagnostic and therapeutic agents, patients with advanced gastric cancer suffer from a poor quality of life and poor prognosis, and treatment is dependent mainly on conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy. To improve the quality of life and survival of gastric cancer patients, a better understanding of the underlying molecular pathologies, and their application towards the development of novel targeted therapies, is urgently needed. Chemokines are a group of small proteins associated with cytoskeletal rearrangements, the directional migration of several cell types during development and physiology, and the host immune response via interactions with G-protein coupled receptors. There is also growing evidence to suggest that chemokines not only play a role in the immune system, but are also involved in the development and progression of tumors. In gastric cancer, CXC chemokines and chemokine receptors regulate the trafficking of cells in and out of the tumor microenvironment. CXC chemokines and their receptors can also directly influence tumorigenesis by modulating tumor transformation, survival, growth, invasion and metastasis, as well as indirectly by regulating angiogenesis, and tumor-leukocyte interactions. In this review, we will focus on the roles of CXC chemokines and their receptors in the development, progression, and metastasis of gastric tumors, and discuss their therapeutic potential for gastric cancer.
authors.affiliation: Hyo Jin Lee, Hwan-Jung Yun, Deog-Yeon Jo, Samyong Kim, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine Chungnam National University and Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon 301-721, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hyo Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Hyo Jin Lee, Hwan-Jung Yun, Deog-Yeon Jo, Samyong Kim, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine Chungnam National University and Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon 301-721, South Korea.
authors.forename: Ik-Chan
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Hyo Jin Lee, Hwan-Jung Yun, Deog-Yeon Jo, Samyong Kim, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine Chungnam National University and Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon 301-721, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hwan-Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.affiliation: Hyo Jin Lee, Hwan-Jung Yun, Deog-Yeon Jo, Samyong Kim, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine Chungnam National University and Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon 301-721, South Korea.
authors.forename: Deog-Yeon
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.affiliation: Hyo Jin Lee, Hwan-Jung Yun, Deog-Yeon Jo, Samyong Kim, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine Chungnam National University and Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon 301-721, South Korea.
authors.forename: Samyong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy*; D002470:Cell Survival; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D019743:Chemokines, CXC / Q000378:metabolism*; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D019707:Receptors, Chemokine / Q000378:metabolism*; D013270:Stomach / Q000473:pathology; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment
chemical_list: D019743:Chemokines, CXC; D019707:Receptors, Chemokine
keywords: Chemokine; Chemokine receptor; Gastric neoplasm; Therapeutic target