Recently, the assessment of lymphangiogenesis and lymph node metastasis of neoplasms has become possible with the development of lymphatic vessel-specific markers, such as LYVE-1, Prox-1, Podoplanin and D2–40 (Banerji et al, 1999; Weninger et al, 1999; Wigle and Oliver, 1999; Kahn et al, 2002), and with the elucidation of the role of vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) in lymphangiogenesis. The gene discussed is FLT4; the disease is neoplasm.