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“Background The major cause of death from malignant tumors including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is dissemination of the primary tumor, leading to formation of metastases. Spread to regional

lymph nodes is often the first step of generalization. Thus, the to presence of lymph node metastasis represents a major criterion for evaluating the prognosis of NSCLC patients. Tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis are considered as the main route for lymphatic metastasis. And lymphovascular invasion (LVI) of tumor cells is a prerequisite for the dissemination via the lymphatic system. However, Studies of lymphatic vessels and lymphogenic metastasis have been hampered by the lack of specific lymphatic markers. Recently several markers for normal and tumor-associated lymphatic vessels have provided tools for a detailed analysis of lymphangiogenesis in human lung cancers. These markers include vascular endothelial growth factor C and D (VEGF-C, VEGF-D) [1, 2], vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) [3–6], the lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor-1 (LYVE-1) [7] and glomerular podocyte membrane mucoprotein podoplanin [8].