FAP and neoplasm: When EC patients were classified based on tumor grade (Fig. 6a), significant elevation in the levels of angiopoietin-2 (p = 0.015), FAP (p = 0.033), FGF-1 (p = 0.0004), and VEGF-A (p = 0.018) were observed in the more advanced grade 3 tumors compared to grade 1 tumors.