Elevated expression of MTA1 was always associated with depth of invasion (OR = 2.60, 95%CI: 1.88–3.61, P<0.001), lymph node metastasis (OR = 2.17, 95%CI: 1.55–3.04, P<0.001, Fig 5C), and TNM stage (OR = 2.54, 95%CI: 1.66–3.88, P<0.001), consistent with previous meta-analysis. Here, MTA1 is linked to metastatic malignant neoplasm in the lymph nodes.