The majority of NSCLC cell lines produce elevated levels of bFGF but do not secrete considerable amounts. We therefore investigated the influence of cell death inducing mechanisms on bFGF release. In addition we studied the biological consequences on chemosensitivity of NSCLC cell lines to cisplatin. In our experiment we induced i) apoptosis with cisplatin and ii) necrosis with heat treatment in NSCLC cell lines. Supernatants of apoptotic/necrotic NSCLC cell lines exhibited significantly increased levels of bFGF independent of the cell death inducing mechanism. The incubation of three NSCLC cell lines with these supernatants resulted in enhanced cisplatin-induced apoptosis/necrosis in one of the cell lines (H1299) only. Addition of an anti-bFGF antibody to conditioned supernatant of H1299 cells abolished this effect partially. These results suggest that the release of bFGF following cell death contributes to enhanced chemosensitivity in NSCLC cell lines.