PAFAH1B3 and metastatic malignant neoplasm in the lymph nodes: Univariate analysis showed that the expression of PAFAH1B3 (HR = 1.497, P = 0.009, 95% CI = 1.018–2.023), primary tumor (HR = 1.690, P < 0.001, 95% CI = 1.336–2.139), lymph node metastasis (HR = 2.496, P < 0.001, 95% CI = 1.851–3.366) and TNM stage (HR = 1.804, P < 0.001, 95% CI = 1.517–2.145) were significantly associated with the risk of death (Additional file 1: Table S1).