(A) Univariate survival analysis for SPARC, FOXP3, CD8 and CD45RO in CRC tissue from patients with stage II and III CRC.

High expression levels of all markers significantly predict patient survival. (B)Multivariate analysis for significant prognostic indicators in CRC tissue from patients with stage II and III CRC. All four markers combined did not improve the predictive value over individual markers. The combination of SPARC and FOXP3, or SPARC and CD8, predicted survival better than all four markers together, or the combination of FOXP3, CD8 and CD45RO, but no combination improved on the predictive sensitivity of SPARC used alone.NB: COX proportional hazards regression model. Abbreviations: CRC – colorectal cancer, OR – odds ration, 95% CI– 95% confidence interval.