Fig 1: Expression of HOXC8 and MS4A2 in the TCGA + GTEx COAD cohort and in CC tissues. HOXC8 expression is elevated in CC tissues compared with control tissues; while MS4A2 expression is decreased in normal colon tissues compared with that in control tissues. a–b The HOXC8 and MS4A2 mRNA levels in colon clinical specimens and normal samples were analysed by using publicly available data sets (TCGA + GTEx COAD cohort). c–d The relative mRNA expression of HOXC8 and MS4A2 in 30 paired CC tumour and normal adjacent tissues was detected by RT-qPCR. e–f Statistical analysis of the immunoreactivity score of HOXC8 and MS4A2 between 40 pairs of CC tissues and corresponding non-tumour tissues. g–h Representative immunohistochemical images of HOXC8 and MS4A2 expression in clinical CC specimens and normal colon tissues (× 200, upper panel; × 400, lower panel)