VEGFA and cancer: Within the cancer microenvironment, IL-1α has been shown to induce the expression of metastatic genes such as the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and stimulate the production of angiogenic proteins and growth factors such as IL-8, IL-6, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) [16,20].