Lgr5 expression was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis (χ2 = 8.351, P = 0.040), increased depth of invasion (χ2 = 15.95, P < 0.0001), increased tumor size (χ2 = 8.819, P = 0.012), advanced differentiation (χ2 = 14.249, P = 0.001) and higher AJCC stage (χ2 = 4.99, P = 0.025) (Table 2). This evidence concerns the gene LGR5 and metastatic malignant neoplasm in the lymph nodes.