Furthermore, previous studies have identified that NGAL can actively promote breast cancer metastasis by inducing the production of vascular endothelial growth factor, angiogenesis, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and cell migration, and invasion through multiple signaling pathways, including phosphoinositide-3-kinase/protein kinase B/NF-κB and hypoxia inducible factor-1α/extracellular signal-regulated kinase 10,32-34. This evidence concerns the gene LCN2 and breast cancer.