MUC1 and neoplasm: Importantly, we and others have also noted that tumor aggression is frequently associated with an increased expression of mucins which enhance the bulkiness of the glycocalyx and, similarly, that circulating epithelial tumor cells typically express an abundance of mucins. (Paszek et al., 2014) Concomitantly, primary tumor xenografts that overexpress MUC1 grow and metastasize more aggressively (Wang et al., 2015) and mice deficient in MUC1 resist formation of spontaneous tumors (Spicer et al., 1995).