HGF and neoplasm: The EMT process is induced by signals originating from the tumor microenvironment encompassing activation of diverse receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) via binding of epidermal growth factor (EGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF, c-Met) or fibroblast growth factor (FGF) [19] or receptor serine/threonine kinases via binding of TGF-β or bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs).