In the stromal segment, we confirmed increased protein expression for NOTCH3 (Spearman Rho=0.65, p=4.59×10−12), Thy1 (Spearman Rho=0.76, p=5.42×10−19), PDGFRB (Spearman Rho=0.81, 2.27×10−23) and Hsp47 (Spearman Rho=0.82, p=1.20×10−23) during the stepwise progression of CRC across samples (figure 3A, online supplemental figure 5). Here, PDGFRB is linked to colorectal carcinoma.