Table 1 summarises the correlation between the CEA and/or CK-20 expression of the peritoneal lavage fluid and the clinicopathological parameters. The molecular diagnosis significantly correlated with the T stage as the depth of tumour invasion (P<0.001), peritoneal dissemination at operation (P<0.001), cytology (P<0.001), stage (P<0.001), and lymph node disease (P<0.001). In contrast, there was no statistically significant association between CEA and/or CK20 and hepatic metastasis at operation, tumour differentiation, venous invasion, or lymphatic invasion. Here, KRT20 is linked to lymph node disorder.