Our findings underline the clinical significance of YKL-40, as it could efficiently distinguish CRC cases from controls with an AUC of 85.6 (95% CI: 73.7–97.4%, p = 0.0002) for YKL-40 mRNA in tissues and an AUC of 78.7 (95% CI: 69.0–88.4%, p = 0.000004), with cutoff values of 0.58 and 0.47, respectively. This evidence concerns the gene CHI3L1 and colorectal carcinoma.