CXCL12 and cancer: Interestingly, using bioinformatics-based algorithms for functional characterization, we also showed that HHEX is a targetable gene that has a high degree of gene neighborhood, and it is a probable modulator of survival genes, including BLNK, PAG1, and LPXN as well as known markers of cancer stemness, namely CXCL12, in patients with BC.