Anti-CCL2: building a reservoir or opening the floodgates to metastasis?

Neutralisation of macrophage chemoattractant C-C chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) has shown reduced metastasis and enhanced survival in numerous experimental models of tumorigenesis. However, important new findings reported in Nature by Momo Bentires-Alj's laboratory demonstrate that withdrawal of anti-CCL2 treatment accelerates lung metastasis and death in mice. The study highlights the need to consider longer term consequences of therapeutic intervention of metastatic disease, especially with regard to transient interference with the tumour microenvironment.