
From early literature exploring central research questions to today’s most cited review articles, the history of research on VEGF in angiogenesis in tumor biology is marked by a number of seminal papers.
The first in vivo images of tumor angiogenesis73
Ide AG, Baker NH, Warren SL. Vascularization of the Brown-Pearce rabbit epithelioma transplant as seen in the transparent ear chamber. Am J Roentgenol. 1939;42:891-899.

The first quantitative assessment of vascular growth74
Algire GH, Chalkley HW, Legallais FY, Park HD. Vascular reactions of normal and malignant tissues in vivo. I. Vascular reactions of mice to wounds and to normal and neoplastic transplants. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1945;6:73-85.

Folkman’s extraordinary hypothesis77
Folkman J, Merler E, Abernathy C, Williams G. Isolation of a tumor factor responsible for angiogenesis. J Exp Med. 1971;133:275-288.

Folkman J. Tumor angiogenesis: therapeutic implications. N Engl J Med. 1971;285:1182-1186.
In this seminal paper, Judah Folkman inaugurated the modern age of angiogenesis research by postulating the process of angiogenesis could be targeted as a way to inhibit the growth of solid tumors.84
Initial cloning of VEGF79
Ferrara N, Henzel WJ. Pituitary follicular cells secrete a novel heparin-binding growth factor specific for vascular endothelial cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1989;161:851-858.
The most cited* review article on angiogenesis85
Folkman J. Angiogenesis in cancer, vascular, rheumatoid and other disease. Nat Med. 1995;1:27-31.
[footnote]
*As noted by Thomson Scientific on www.esi-topics.com/angiogenesis/papers/map.html. Accessed November 11, 2005.
Dvorak HF, Brown LF, Detmar M, Dvorak AM. Vascular permeability factor/vascular endothelial growth factor, microvascular hyperpermeability, and angiogenesis. Am J Pathol. 1995;146:1029-1039.
Ferrara N, Henzel WJ. Pituitary follicular cells secrete a novel heparin-binding growth factor specific for vascular endothelial cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1989;161:851-858.
Folkman J. Tumor angiogenesis: therapeutic implications. N Engl J Med. 1971;285:1182-1186.
Hicklin DJ, Ellis LM. Role of the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway in tumor growth and angiogenesis. J Clin Oncol. 2005;23:1011-1027.
Hanahan D, Weinberg RA. The hallmarks of cancer. Cell. 2000;100:57-70.