Interestingly, using both phenotyping- and gene expression-focused molecular approaches, these authors were able to correlate the presence of mesenchymal (N-cadherin-positive) and stem-like (CD133-positive) cells in blood with a decreased expression of genes coding for the first alpha subunit identified within hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF-1α) and the receptor for the vascular-endothelial growth factor (VEGFR) as well as with shorter progression-free survival (PFS) among the 14 metastatic RCC patients tested, including 12 ccRCC. The gene discussed is VEGFA; the disease is renal cell carcinoma.