It is interesting to note that VEGF-C immunostaining in breast cancer tissues was reported to show a significant correlation with tumour cell invasion of lymphatic vessels at the microscopic level, but not with lymph node metastasis in one study (Kinoshita et al, 2001), whereas another study using a larger sample size including a higher proportion of VEGF-C expressing specimens demonstrated a positive correlation with nodal metastasis (Nakamura et al, 2003). This evidence concerns the gene VEGFC and breast cancer.