We suggest that an alternate pathway to the canonical TGF-βR1/II-Smad2/3 (Fig. 7a) may be operating in the cells when TGF-β1 occurs together with Hsp90β (Fig. 7b) and that this pathway promotes metastatic behaviour in terms of adhesion, migration and AIG when the canonical TGF-β pathway is inhibited, particularly in SW480 cells, which are a model for early stage colon cancer. Here, SMAD2 is linked to colonic neoplasm.