Human pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors comprise a biologically heterogeneous group of neoplasms that secrete hormones and are associated with distinct clinical paraneoplastic syndromes. Relatively little is known about the genetic events that occur during the initiation and progression of these tumors. The targeted expression of MYCN in cells of the pancreatic islet induces neuroendocrine carcinoma in zebrafish. The tumor cells expressed insulin mRNA, and pancreatic exocrine cells and ducts were identified within the neoplasms, indicating a pancreatic origin for the tumor. Transgenic animal models of human cancers can help to elucidate molecular pathogenesis and serve as accurate preclinical models to test new therapeutic and diagnostic approaches. Zebrafish models of human cancers are especially attractive because zebrafish are amenable to large-scale forward genetic and chemical modifier screens. For details, see the article by Yang et al. on page 7256 of the issue.

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