Anti‐angiogenic drugs are approved for the treatment of several cancer types, generally in the inoperable locally advanced or metastatic setting and in combination with other anti‐cancer agents. Recent clinical studies also suggest that anti‐angiogenic drugs can be useful in the pre‐operative (neoadjuvant) setting, by facilitating the shrinkage of the primary tumour and its surgical resection. However, the effects of neoadjuvant anti‐angiogenic therapy on the ability of tumours to form distant metastases are unclear. In this issue of EMBO Molecular Medicine, Ebos et al (2014) present carefully performed pre‐clinical studies in mice that analyse the effects of pre‐operative anti‐angiogenic therapy on tumour metastasis and survival.