IGF1 and cancer: IGFBP3 is known to have IGF-dependent and independent anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects in many tumour cell types, while there is abundant evidence for growth-promoting effects of IGFBP2 in diverse cancer models.56,57 Although the functional attributes of these particular IGFBPs are cell type-dependent and often contradictory, they seem to correspond to both in vitro and in vivo observations made in the context of our study.