HHEX and colorectal carcinoma: Accordingly, we found that CRC patients featuring high plasma Hex activity (1.39 ± 0.21 relative Hex activity units, n = 81) experienced a significantly higher 5-year mortality risk than patients with low plasma Hex activity (0.87 ± 0.16 relative Hex activity units, n = 221, log-rank test, p = 0.0087) (Fig. 4F).