Although clinical targeting of the VEGF signalling axis frequently induces resistance38 that limits it as a monotherapy, expression of VEGF and its receptors correlates with cancer stage and metastasis and might be a useful prognostic indicator.39 The variation in the angiogenic signalling detected in our study divides breast, kidney and colon cancers into high and low expression groups (Figure 4C), a division that might not only be useful as a staging marker but also for identifying tumours likely to respond to antiangiogenic therapy. Here, VEGFA is linked to cancer.