HMGA2 and cancer: Nevertheless, HMGA2 is abnormally re-expressed in nearly all human cancers, where it acts as an oncofetal protein that has been reported to induce cancer cell proliferation by promoting cell cycle and inhibiting apoptosis, as well as facilitating epithelial-mesenchymal transition by activating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR/NFKB, TGFβ/SMAD, MAPK/ERK, and STAT3 pathways 32.