Determination of follistatin-like protein 1 expression in colorectal cancer and its association with clinical outcomes

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death in China, with a total of 191,000 deaths in 2015 (1). Although risk factors such as T4 tumors, the elevation of preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels, and the presence of lymphovascular or perineural invasion and mesenteric tumor nodules have been demonstrated to be factors for a poor clinical outcome, this information is still insufficient for precise clinical treatment (2,3). Therefore, the exploration of new biomarkers is essential to distinguish subgroups with a high risk of recurrence and to personalize therapy regimens