HGF and cancer: Activation of inflammatory pathways also affects the tumor microenvironment (TME) and leads to the differentiation of fibroblasts into cancer-associated fibroblasts and the recruitment of macrophages.[16], [17], [18], [19] Multitudes of cytokines including chemokine (C-C motif) ligand (CCL20), epidermal growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and IL-10, and matrix metalloproteases (MMPs), are produced by cancer cells and other cells in the TME, like immune cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts.17