SDC1 and neoplasm: Via their heparin-related heparan sulfate carbohydrate chains, syndecans interact with a wide range of ligands that are relevant to normal cell physiology and tumor progression, including growth factors, angiogenic factors, chemokines, their respective tyrosine kinase- and G-protein coupled receptors, proteases and their inhibitors, and extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin, tenascin C and members of the collagen and laminin families [2,3].