Avoiding hepatic metastasis naturally: Lessons from the cotton top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus)

Core Tip

Core tip: Hepatic metastasis is a terminal event. Avoiding this complication would prolong life and current understanding of inflammatory mediators allows possible secondary intervention. The cotton top tamarin (CTT), like humans develops inflammatory bowel disease complicated by colorectal cancer but avoids liver metastasis. We suggest 5 mechanisms by which CTT avoid liver spread. They involve changes in ICAMs and their receptors, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) family mediators of angiogenesis, post translational modifications of molecules like CEA, and increased expression of anti-proliferative agents such as fibulins. This changes our perception from “monkey see, monkey do” to “see what the monkeys do and do the same”. Possible avenues of intervention are suggested.