When limiting the cut-off value to> = 30% tumor cells stained positive, the sensitivity analysis of the 4 studies in fixed effect model indicated that MUC1 expression was significantly correlated with CRC node metastasis with combined OR of 3.32 and 95% CI of 2.12–5.20 (χ2 = 5.15, P = 0.161, I2 = 41.7%,Fig 2C). Here, MUC1 is linked to neoplasm.