The molecular events favoring lymphangiogenic pathways for tumor growth and dissemination are not perfectly understood, nor are the expression patterns of lymphangiogenic biomarkers such as the VEGFR-3 receptor and its ligands, VEGF-C and VEGF-D. In particular, VEGFR-3 expression is not restricted to the lymphatic endothelium, but is found on some cancer cells and other cell types. A quantitative RT-PCR method was set up to measure the mRNA levels of VEGFR-3, VEGF-C and VEGF-D. With this method, a very low detection threshold was obtained when tested on 17 different human cell types. It was found that, in contrast to VEGF-D mRNA, the VEGFR-3 and VEGF-C mRNAs were not expressed in all the cell types studied, and that blood cells expressed high VEGFR-3 mRNA levels compared to solid tumor cells. As a result, quantitative RT-PCR is considered to be a highly reliable and reproducible technique that could help elucidate lymphangiogenic marker patterns of expression and function in cancer.