Measurement of serum VEGF levels by ELISA appears to be a more promising procedure for quantification than immunohistochemical staining of tissue VEGF, although VEGF can be secreted by megakaryocytes and platelets other than tumour cells (Banks et al, 1998; Webb et al, 1998; Salven et al, 1999; George et al, 2000; Lee et al, 2000). This evidence concerns the gene VEGFA and neoplasm.