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Angiopoietins play an important role in tumor angiogenesis in concert with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).Angiopoeitin-1 (Ang-1) and angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) are counteracting ligands for the endothelium-specific receptor Tie2.While Ang-1 stabilizes the vasculature in tissues, Ang-2 promotes tumor angiogenesis by destabilizing the vascular bed and potentiating the effects of VEGF.Ang-2 overexpression has been reported in many types of cancer, and Ang-2 expression levels have prognostic significance.By contrast, the expression of Ang-1 is heterogeneous, and its clinical implications are somewhat controversial.We evaluated the clinical significance of angiopoietins in lung cancer.First, serum Ang-2 and VEGF levels were measured in 136 lung-cancer patients at all stages and compared with 40 healthy controls.The lung-cancer patients had higher serum Ang-2 and VEGF levels than the controls.The serum Ang-2 and VEGF levels were correlated.With stage progression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the serum Ang-2 levels increased, and patients with distant metastasis had higher levels than those without.