TSC2 acts as a tumor suppressor in a variety of cancers (e.g. oral, lung and ovarian cancers) (25,26), and the upregulation of EREG has been documented in a variety of cancers (e.g. colorectal, lung, pancreatic, oral and ovarian cancers) and in TSC patients (21,27–31). Here, TSC2 is linked to neoplasm.