GDF15 and colorectal carcinoma: However, when the intensity of GDF15 in lymph node metastases was stratified to no to moderate vs high, high expression was associated with increased risk for recurrences in stage III CRC (HR 1.78; 95% CI, 1.59–38.03) in a multivariate Cox regression model including gender, heredity for CRC, N stage, CEA and neural invasion.