GPRC5A (RAI3), coding for a seven transmembrane G protein-coupled receptor is known to be overexpressed in pancreatic cancer and might be an interesting candidate for therapeutic intervention.
In the present study, it was first found by tissue microarray-based immunohistochemistry that CXCL12 and CXCR7 staining scores were significantly associated with vessel invasion and overall survival in two independent cohorts of PC.
Functional enrichment analysis using DAVID consistently found the G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway (including both neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction and olfactory transduction pathways) to be the most significant pathway for pancreatic cancer risk in this study population.