Changes in CXCL12 and CXCR4 levels in pre-nCRT biopsy and paired post-nCRT surgical specimen tissue samples from 45 LARC patients showed higher expression in LARC cancer cells after nCRT (p < 0.001 for each, Wilcoxon signed-rank test) (Supplementary Figure 4). This evidence concerns the gene CXCR4 and cancer.