MIF and cancer: The expression of the proinflammatory cytokine MIF (macrophage migration inhibitory factor) and its cognate receptor CD74 has been investigated as a prognostic indicator for various cancers, sometimes with conflicting results depending on the type of cancer and the mode of biomarker measurement (serum or tumor, mRNA or protein, etc.)[12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20].