VEGFA and cancer: In malignant tumors, emmprin acts as a modulator of tumor-stroma cross-talk, since it mediates not only MMP production but also tumor angiogenesis through the stimulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression [12], induction of activated stromal myofibroblasts [13], and anchorage-independent growth and multidrug resistance in a hyaluronan-dependent fashion [14-16].