CXCL12 and neoplasm: It has been suggested that the de novo methylation of the CXCR4 locus may simply be a part of genome-wide process in a distinct subgroup of pancreatic cancers characterized by a profound methylator phenotype and that alternative pathways to CXCR4/CXCL12 may be utilized for tumor progression (Sato et al., 2005).