Interestingly, the prognostic value of ADAM12 was particularly evident in rectal tumors (ADAM12 low versus ADAM12 high; mOS 31.2 vs. 18.1 months, HR 1.78 [95% CI 1.06–3.00], P = 0.030), which remained significant when adjusted for other possible prognostic variables (HR 2.15 [95% CI 1.21–3.82], P = 0.009) (Fig. 3 and Additional file 1: Table S4). Here, ADAM12 is linked to rectal neoplasm.