HGF and neoplasm: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a multifunctional cytokine produced by cells of the supportive tumour microenvironment, and a central regulator of the invasive/metastatic phenotype of neoplastic cells (Matsumoto and Nakamura, 2006; Mazzone and Comoglio, 2006; Desiderio, 2007).