This article has been corrected: The authors found that there was an error in the published affiliation for the corresponding author, Hong-Jin Chen. The correct affiliation is “4Department of Colorectal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.”

The full list of authors with their correctly assigned affiliations is provided below:

Guo-Liang Wu1,2, Li Li3, Xiao-Yao Chen2, Wei-Feng Zhang4,5, Jun-Bo Wu6, Xiaoning Yu7, Hong-Jin Chen4

1First Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023, China

2Department of Anorectal Section, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, China

3Department of Endocrinology, The Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250014, China

4Department of Colorectal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China

5Department of Anorectal Section, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221000, China

6Department of Colorectal Surgery, Hengyang Central Hospital, Hengyang, Hunan 421001, China

7Department of Geriatrics, Hematology and Oncology Unit, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China