Univariate analysis revealed that patient survival was significantly associated with sex (P = 0.036), lymphatic invasion (P = 0.015), tumor depth (P = 0.015), lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001), pathological stage (P < 0.001), and c-Met expression (P = 0.017) (Table 3). This evidence concerns the gene MET and metastatic malignant neoplasm in the lymph nodes.