Despite what is known about the autocrine effects of CX3CL1/CX3CR1, minimal research has been done to examine the role of CX3CL1 secretion by tumor cells [30] and the paracrine mechanisms by which tumor cell-secreted CX3CL1 interacts with CX3CR1-expressing cells of the surrounding tumor microenvironment during early mammary tumor formation. Here, CX3CL1 is linked to breast cancer.