Association of chemokine (CXC motif) receptor 4 expression with lymphovascular invasion and lymph node metastasis of invasive breast cancer.

Background: The histological tumor grade influences the prognosis of breast cancer. In metastatic breast cancer, stromal cells produce chemokine (CXC motif) ligand 12 or stromal cell-derived factor-1 as a chemoattractant, which binds to chemokine (CXC motif) receptor 4 (CXCR4) expressed by breast cancer cells.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the expression of CXCR4 in invasive breast cancer in relation to lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and lymph node metastasis.