HOXD9 and metastatic malignant neoplasm in the lymph nodes: Statistical analyses revealed that HOXD9 levels were not related to the age (< 60 years vs. >60, P = .115), gender (P = .788) or tumor size (<5 cm vs. ≧5 cm, P = .592) but were highly related to lymph node metastasis (P = .034), differentiation (P = .000), AJCC stage (I/II vs. III/IV, P = .032), and extra serious invasion (P = .020) (Table 1).