CTCF and colorectal carcinoma: Results indicated that both CTCF and SPARC were upregulated in CRC (Fig. 3G, Additional file Fig. S2A) and there was a positive correlation between SPARC and CTCF expression predicted by GEPIA and Starbase (https://starbase.sysu.edu.cn/) (Fig. 3H, Additional file Fig. S2B).