Interestingly, we found that CRC cells had two distinct immunostaining patterns for CXCR4: cytomembrane and nuclear types, similar to those reported in cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (Shibuta et al, 2002), breast cancer (Kato et al, 2003; Shim et al, 2006), lung cancer (Spano et al, 2004), and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (Wang et al, 2005). This evidence concerns the gene CXCR4 and breast cancer.