POU1F1 and gastric cancer: Furthermore, the high mobility group A 1B/2 was shown to upregulate the expression of POU class 1 homeobox 1 (POU1F1), which regulates M2-like macrophage polarization via the CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling axis, and contributes to the metastasis of gastric cancer to the lungs (18).