VCAN and neoplasm: Versican expression by epithelial cells in the periphery of the tumor, i.e., near the invasive front, was correlated to a longer disease-free survival for the whole cohort (P = 0.01), stage III patients only (P = 0.01), stage III patients with microsatellite-instable tumors (P = 0.04), and stage III patients with microsatellite-stable tumors who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy (P = 0.006).