The significance of targeting VEGF and SDF-1/CXCR4 signaling for stem cell niche formation can be deduced from the observation that targeting of both, VEGF and CXCR4, decreases the number of perivascular GBM cells expressing stem cell markers in an orthotopic glioma mouse model, which was associated with improved survival of the tumor-bearing mice (87). This evidence concerns the gene CXCR4 and central nervous system cancer.