SMAD2 and gastric cancer: TGF-β-mediated EMT-like changes in HPMCs through Smad2 phosphorylation promotes gastric cancer growth and fibrosis [44].Therefore, we speculated that galectin-1/LGALS1 promoted the expression of the cytokine TGF-β1 in GC tissues, and TGF-β1 was released into the blood or ascites to activate the TGF-β1–SMAD2/3 signaling pathway and promote EMT in peritoneal mesenchymal cells, thereby promoting peritoneal collagen deposition.