GRN and cancer: Our preliminary work suggests that progranulin is a soluble factor that may help mediate the survival of CRC cells under the stress of chemotherapy, and progranulin has been previously reported as a growth and survival factor for several other cancer cell types, such as ovarian (Devoogdt et al, 2003; Simpkins et al, 2008; Cuevas-Antonio et al, 2009), breast (Serrero, 2003; Tangkeangsirisin and Serrero, 2004), and prostate cancer (Pan et al, 2004).