Spearman correlation analysis showed that serum levels of COX-2, AQP1, and G17 were significantly positively correlated with TNM staging, infiltration depth, and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05), and significantly negatively correlated with the degree of differentiation (P<0.05). This evidence concerns the gene PTGS2 and metastatic malignant neoplasm in the lymph nodes.