Patients with tumors exhibiting high SOX9 expression had significantly shorter overall survival than those with low expression of SOX9 in either stages I + II subgroup (n = 43; P = 0.001, log-rank; Figure 5A) or stages III + IV subgroup (n = 56; P = 0.020, log-rank; Figure 5B), indicating that SOX9 could be a valuable prognostic marker for NSCLC patients at all disease stages. The gene discussed is SOX9; the disease is non-small cell lung carcinoma.