Can we Target the Chemokine Network for Cancer Therapeutics?

The paradigm of cancer development and metastasis has been redefined to encompass a more comprehensive interaction between the tumor and microenvironment within which the tumor cells reside. Despite the realization that this more comprehensive relationship has changed the current paradigm of cancer research, the struggle continues to more completely understand the pathogenesis of the disease and the ability to appropriately identify and design novel targets for therapy. Chemokines and chemokine receptors are being investigated for their role in tumor development and metastasis and may prove to be useful therapeutic targets. The chemokine family is a complex network of molecules that are ubiquitously expressed and perform a variety of functions most notably regulating the immune system. Here we review the importance of chemokines in the tumor-stromal interaction and discuss current concepts for targeting the chemokine network.