HBEGF and cancer: HB-EGF autocrine signaling is associated with breast cancer intravasation and metastasis in macrophage independent fashion, and owing to its activity on MAPK signaling, is a potent mitogen in many cancers, including lung (Yotsumoto et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2020), pancreatic (Ray et al., 2014), and breast tumors (Sethuraman et al., 2018).