Cripto is highly overexpressed in human epithelial cancers, such as breast and colon carcinomas (Salomon et al. 2000), and has been implicated in tumor formation (Ciardiello et al. 1991, 1994; Baldassarre et al. 1996; De Luca et al. 2000; Salomon et al. 2000; Adkins et al. 2003). This evidence concerns the gene CRIPTO and neoplasm.