In addition, higher CXCR3 expression was associated with distant metastasis (yes vs no: pooled relative ratio [RR] =1.828, 95% CI: 1.140-2.931, <i>P</i>=0.012) in solid tumors and indicated advanced tumor stage (III/IV vs I/II, RR =2.656, 95% CI: 1.809-3.900, <i>P</i><0.001) and lymph node metastasis (yes vs no: RR =2.28, 95% CI: 1.61-3.25, <i>P</i><0.001) in colorectal cancer.
Significantly increased expression levels of CXCL9 and CXCR3 were detected in tissue specimens with lymph node metastasis compared with those without (P<0.01).
Ectopic overexpression of CXCR3 in BOWES cells leads to increased ligand-mediated phERK, cellular migration, and IL-8 expression in vitro, and to increased tumorigenesis and lymph node metastasis in vivo.
Additionally, the overexpression of CXCR3 is significantly associated with the tumour grade and lymph node metastasis of ovarian cancer, further supporting the role of CXCR3, which interacts with CXCL11, in promoting growth and metastasis of human ovarian cancer.