VEGFA and cancer: Moreover, higher mRNA expression of VEGF-A (breast, colon, liver and lung), a HIF-1α-target gene, and select OATPs including OATP2B1 (breast, liver and lung) and OATP4A1 (colon and liver) were seen in canine cancer tissues relative to cancer-adjacent normal tissues as determined by qPCR (Figure 5A).