The Journal of clinical investigation
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We report here the role of the CXC chemokine, epithelial neutrophil activating peptide (ENA-78), as an angiogenic factor in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In freshly isolated human specimens of NSCLC, elevated levels of ENA-78 were found that strongly correlated with the vascularity of the tumors. ⋯ Furthermore, passive immunization of NSCLC tumor-bearing mice with neutralizing anti-ENA-78 antibodies reduced tumor growth, tumor vascularity, and spontaneous metastases, while having no effect on the proliferation of NSCLC cells either in vitro or in vivo. These findings suggest that ENA-78 is an important angiogenic factor in human NSCLC.