CXCR4 and familial pancreatic carcinoma: Importantly, in previous studies, a chemokine receptor, CXCR4, was shown to be overexpressed in pancreatic cancer tissues and CSCs (Hermann et al, 2007; Thomas et al, 2008; Marechal et al, 2009) and has been shown to potentiate pancreatic cancer growth and invasion (Marchesi et al, 2004; Mori et al, 2004; Hermann et al, 2007).