More importantly, cancer cells under persistent ER stress during the early phase of apoptosis release an abundance of DAMPs, such as calreticulin (CRT) and high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), which send the “eat me” signal to Toll-like receptor 4 on the surface of dendritic cells (DCs), thus promoting DC maturation. This evidence concerns the gene HMGB1 and cancer.