Background: the 7th edition of AJCC/TNM staging system individualized in colorectal cancers (CRC) the new nodal subclassification N1c, characterized by the presence of tumor deposit (TD) without any concurrent positive lymph node (LN). The incidence, the clinico-pathological characteristics and the prognostic value of N1c CRC are poorly known. Methods: all consecutive patients who underwent surgery for CRC in two French centers between 2011 and 2014 (n=1122) were included. Clinico-pathological parameters (including degree of differentiation, vascular emboli, perineural invasion and distant metastasis), as well as MSI status were analyzed. We compared 3-year overall survival (OS) and Disease Free Survival (DFS) of N1c patients versus other N category (N0, N1a and N1b) patients with CRC with similar T and M0 status. Results: our population study included 648 (57.8%) colonic cancers and 474 rectal cancers. N1c status was documented in 57 patients (5.1%). A N1c stage was significantly more frequently observed in rectal cancers (n=33; 57.9% vs. n=441; 41.4 %, p=0.029), and significantly more frequently associated with higher pathological tumoral stages (pT3-T4: n=55, 96.5% vs. n=788, 74.0%, p