Aims: to evaluate tumour angiogenesis assessed by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), microvessel density (MVD), and tumour vessel invasion in patients who had undergone radical resection for stage IB-IIIB non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: studied 42 patients (34 men, 8 women
mean age, 56.1 years
SD, 10,5) undergoing complete' surgical resection of pathological stage IB to IIIB of NSCLC were evaluated. No patient underwent postoperative chemotherapy or neoadjuvant treatment. Tumour specimens were stained for VEGF and specific MVD markers: CD31, CD34. Results: VEGF-positive is 88.1 percent in NSCLC and in all histopathologic type (adenocarrcinoma: 75 percent, epidermoid carcinoma: 100 percent, large cell carcinoma: 100 percent). The level of expression significantly correlated with intratumor microvessel density (MVD) assessed by staining with CD34 (p 0.05). MVD determined by CD31 and CD34 was 53.35 + or - 16.38 and 156.57 + or - 21.95, MVD in adenocarcinoma is higher than in epidemoid carcinoma (p 0.05). Tumour vessel invasion in adenocarcinoma, epidemoid carcinoma and large cell carcinoma is 76.19 percent, 36.84 percent and 100 percent, respectively.