title: Involvement of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in cancer and novel therapeutic targets.
abstract: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was originally identified in 1966 by Bloom and Bennett as a pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in the inhibition of macrophage motility. Since then, studies have investigated the functional contribution of this pro-inflammatory cytokine in several immune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and lupus erythematous. Recently, MIF has been reported to be involved in a variety of neoplastic diseases. The present review discusses previous cancer research studies that have investigated the involvement of MIF in carcinogenesis, disease prognosis, tumor cell proliferation and invasion, and tumor-induced angiogenesis. Finally, potential therapeutic approaches based on the use of MIF antagonists and neutralizing antibodies are examined. The review concludes that MIF could be a good prognostic biomarker in several types of cancer, but also that the inhibition of MIF could represent a novel therapy against cancer.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Mons, Mons 7000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nadège
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kindt
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Mons, Mons 7000, Belgium; Laboratory of Oncology and Experimental Surgery, Institut Jules Bordet, Free University of Brussels, Brussels 1000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Journe
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Mons, Mons 7000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Laurent
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Mons, Mons 7000, Belgium; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Free University of Brussels, Brussels 1000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saussez
keywords: angiogenesis; cancer; cancer therapy; cell proliferation; invasion; migration inhibitory factor