And CTC enumeration was increasing with decreased tumor de-differentiation (poor vs. middle, P = 0.0191; poor vs. high, P = 0.0359), increased lymphatic invasion (N2b vs. N0, P = 0.0429; N2b vs. N1, P = 0.0361; N2b vs. N2a, P = 0.1037), TNM stage (IVb vs. III, P = 0.0186; IVb vs. IVa, P = 0.1019) and serum CEA level (CEA > 10 vs. CEA ≤ 10 ng/ml, P = 0.0026) (Fig. 2c–g). The gene discussed is CEACAM5; the disease is neoplasm.