['Circulating vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) levels were measured in patients with esophageal cancer to assess the value of VEGF-C as a biomarker for predicting tumor recurrence.', 'Preoperative serum samples were acquired from 80 patients and healthy volunteers who served as normal controls. VEGF-C levels were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).', 'The preoperative serum VEGF-C level in patients with esophageal cancer was significantly higher than in healthy volunteers. Furthermore, patients with recurrence had significantly higher preoperative serum VEGF-C levels than patients without recurrence, and a high preoperative serum VEGF-C level was found to be an independent risk factor for recurrence, in addition to lymph node metastasis.'] Do preoperative serum vascular endothelial growth factor-C ( VEGF-C ) levels predict recurrence in patients with esophageal cancer?