IHC staining demonstrated that CD31 expression was much stronger in the tumour samples from LPS-treated mice than in those from control mice and that DNase I and the p38 MAPK signalling pathway inhibitor abolished this response (Fig. 8C), indicating that NETs accelerate GC growth by promoting angiogenesis rather than by directly increasing the proliferative capacity of GC cells. This evidence concerns the gene PECAM1 and neoplasm.