Notably, MMP7, has a well-documented role in colon cancer progression and metastasis (Kitamura et al., 2009; Koskensalo et al., 2011; Polistena et al., 2014), as does VEGF via vasculature remodeling in tumor-adjacent tissues (Ellis et al., 2000; Liu et al., 2011; Ahluwalia et al., 2014; Yang et al., 2015). The gene discussed is MMP7; the disease is colonic neoplasm.