CD68 and metastatic malignant neoplasm in the lymph nodes: Considering the colinearity between SPP1+ macrophages (SPP1) and macrophages (CD68), SPP1/CD68 was used to study the relationship between SPP1+ macrophages and clinical features in CRC (median grouping), revealing that H-SPP1/CD68 patients had higher mean age, advanced T classification, lymph node metastasis, high levels of microsatellite instability, high tumor mutation burden, and shorter survival time (overall survival and progression-free interval) (Table 2).