PLAU and cancer: Proteolytic enzyme uPA converts the pro-enzyme plasminogen into proteolytically active form (plasmin), which takes part in physiological and pathophysiological processes on the basal membrane and inside the extracellular matrix, which are important for tumour growth and its metastases.1 Plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1, which functions as a natural inhibitor of uPA, is the most important factor among fibrinolytic inhibitors for the development of vascular diseases and cancer.