CAF-derived MMPs can promote ECM remodeling and tumor cell invasion (Kalluri and Zeisberg, 2006), and in an orthotopic model of colon cancer, CAFs promote formation of distal metastases through secretion of the glycoprotein stanniocalcin 1 (STC1) which regulates intravasation of the tumor cells (Pena et al., 2013). Here, STC1 is linked to colonic neoplasm.