Revisiting CCL-type chemokines in breast cancer and its milieu: prominent targetable chemokines, CCL8 and CCL21.

The patterns of chemokine expression play a decisive role in both breast cancer prognosis and metastasis. In a recent article published in Bioscience Reports, 'Bioinformatics identification of CCL8/21 as potential prognostic biomarkers in breast cancer microenvironment', Chen et al. presented that expression of both CCL8 and CCL21 among CCL-type chemokines is prominent for prognosis of the breast cancer, metastasis and chemoresistance (Biosci Rep (2020) 40(11); DOI: 10.1042/BSR20202042). Identifying the sources of the CCL8 and CCL21 in the tumor microenvironment and developing targeting strategies for these chemokines to prevent tumor growth will improve both prognosis and therapeutic outcomes.