Furthermore, high concentrations of CXCL12 are present at the common sites of pancreatic metastases (lymph nodes, liver, lungs, and so on), suggesting that CXCL12–CXCR4 signalling may have a role in the homing of pancreatic cancer cells to specific organs (Mori et al, 2004; Saur et al, 2005). Here, CXCR4 is linked to familial pancreatic carcinoma.