SPDL1 and neoplasm: The association of SPDL1-high expression with superior survival is in line with tumor suppressive character, nevertheless our study does not allow us to infer anything conclusively about the nature of SPDL1 functionality in colorectal carcinogenesis, since showing that a biomarker is predictive of prognosis is merely a description of correlation and suggests, but does not robustly acknowledge, a biologic mechanism of functional significance [17].