The CXC chemokine receptor type 7 (CXCR7) protein expression was quantified by IOD (CXCR7/GAPDH) by western blot analysis: Colon cancer tissue (Ca.) and normal colon tissues (Nor.), P﹤0.05; tumors with and those without lymph node (LN) metastases (LN+ and LN-, respectively), P﹤0.05; well-differentiated adenocarcinomas (Well) and moderately-to-poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas (M-P), P﹥0.05. SD, standard deviation; IOD, integrated optical density.