Human colorectal carcinogenesis has been shown previously to be associated with impressive changes in the tissue levels of plasminogen activators and their inhibitors, exemplified by an increase in the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) and the inhibitors PAI-1 and PAI-2, and a decrease in tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA). In the present study we evaluated the prognostic significance of these parameters to the overall survival of patients with colorectal cancer, in conjunction with several major clinicopathological parameters like age, gender, differentiation grade, and Dukes' stage. Univariate analyses revealed that a low t-PA antigen level, low t-PA activity, and high u-PA/t-PA antigen ratio in normal mucosa and a high u-PA and PAI-2 antigen level in carcinomas are prognostic for a poor overall survival of patients with colorectal cancer. The prognostic value of t-PA antigen and activity in normal mucosa, the antigen ratio of u-PA in carcinoma (C) and t-PA in corresponding normal (N) mucosa [u-PA(C)/t-PA(N) antigen ratio], and PAI-2 antigen in carcinomas was found to be independent from clinicopathological parameters by multivariate analyses. These observations illustrate the clinical importance of the plasminogen activation cascade at the tissue level in colorectal cancer invasion, metastasis, and survival.