In a study aiming to examine proangiogenic cytokines with regard to social support in individuals with colon and rectum tumors, implicit loneliness was associated with increased levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the tumors; this suggests that VEGF could be the mediator between loneliness and a poorer prognosis in cancer, by promoting angiogenesis [81]. This evidence concerns the gene VEGFA and rectal neoplasm.