Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) is a novel cytokine secreted by a variety of cells like macrophages, adipocytes, normally expressed in high amounts by placenta. It is also highly expressed in multiple carcinomas like Colon, Breast, Pancreas, Liver, and Ovarian. Several reports on serum GDF-15 as a potential biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of cancer are hampered by the lack of robust data, with large sample size and critical patient recruitment. However, experimental accounts on cancer tumors, cell lines, and animal models suggest GDF-15's role in cancer progression via endothelial mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis, metastasis, drug resistance and even stemness of various cancers. GDF-15 could be the point of amalgamation for the various hallmarks of cancer and can prove a useful therapeutic target in cancer. The current review was conceptualized with a thought of critically appraising the existing information of GDF-15 in carcinogenesis.

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生长分化因子15及其在致癌作用中的作用：更新。

生长分化因子15（GDF-15）是一种新型细胞因子，由多种细胞（如巨噬细胞，脂肪细胞）分泌，通常由胎盘大量表达。它还在结肠癌，乳腺癌，胰腺癌，肝癌和卵巢癌等多种癌中高表达。缺乏可靠的数据，样本量大和患者招募危急，阻碍了血清GDF-15作为癌症诊断和预后的潜在生物标志物的几项报道。但是，有关癌症肿瘤，细胞系和动物模型的实验结果表明，GDF-15通过内皮间充质转化，血管生成，转移，耐药性甚至是各种癌症的干性在癌症进展中的作用。GDF-15可能是各种癌症标志的合并点，并且可以证明是有用的癌症治疗靶标。