HMGB1 and injury: In recent studies, an increased serum level of HMGB1 has been shown in progression of many acute and chronic inflammatory diseases, such as sepsis, acute lung injury, rheumatoid arthritis, and disseminated intravascular coagulation, suggesting that HMGB1 may have a large influence on the development and evolution of malignant processes by promoting cell migration, modulating the adhesive properties, and stimulating tumor neoangiogenesis [7, 12, 22].