CD47 and cancer: Although the significance of the increase in CD47 expression in the pathogenesis of cancer remains to be fully elucidated, it is conceivable that the inhibitory effect of CD47 on phagocytosis of tumour cells by macrophages and DCs would impede processing and presentation of tumour antigens, and thus not only disable macrophage-mediated innate immune responses but also impair tumour-specific T cell responses against cancer [22, 23].