Table 1 Characteristics of patients and healthy controls
| Â | Healthy controls (n = 19) | CRC patients (n = 40) |
|---|---|---|
Age (years) | Â | Â |
   Range | 40-63 | 43-90 |
   Median | 54 | 70 |
Gender (n) | Â | Â |
   Male | 4 | 25 |
   Female | 15 | 15 |
UICC stage (n) | Â | Â |
   n. d. | n.a. | 4 |
   1 |  | 4 |
   2 |  | 16 |
   3 |  | 10 |
   4 |  | 6 |