CXCL12 and cancer: CXCR4, a chemokine receptor expressed by most cancer types, including cancers of epithelial, mesenchymal and hematopoietic origin [82], has a critical role in cell migration and metastasis to organs that secrete its ligand, CXCL12, also known as stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) [83].