Moreover, Spearman analysis showed that the positive CDK5 expression in NSCLC was correlated with TNM stages (r = 0.129, P = 0.017), lymph node metastasis (r = 0.365, P < 0.001), and pathological grading (r = 0.307, P < 0.001). Here, CDK5 is linked to metastatic malignant neoplasm in the lymph nodes.