A significantly higher association was apparent between the percentage of cases with TSG101- and PEG10-positive expression in the SC/ASC samples with a large tumor mass size, high TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, invasion and no resection (biopsy only) compared with the cases of small tumor size, low TNM stage, no lymph metastasis, no invasion and radical resection (P<0.05; Table II). Here, PEG10 is linked to metastatic malignant neoplasm in the lymph nodes.