Identification of novel genes involved in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma metastasis

Esophageal cancer is the 7th leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. An estimated 500,000 new cases of esophageal cancer occur annually, and 400,000 deaths were reported in 2022. Esophageal cancer is classified into two distinct pathological subtypes: adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), with ESCC being the predominant histopathological type in the Asian population and developing countries. Despite advancements in multimodal therapy strategies, the overall prognosis of ESCC remains poor. Current clinical decisions for the management of ESCC are based on the clinical tumor-node-metastasis (cTNM) staging system. However, not all patients diagnosed with ESCC at the same TNM stage exhibit identical clinical outcomes. Therefore, the identification of new biomarkers and potential treatment targets for ESCC is crucial for risk stratification, individualized treatment, and follow-up. Recently, antibodies targeting the T-cell-inhibitory programmed cell death-1 (PD-1), such as pembrolizumab and nivolumab, have shown promise, particularly in the treatment of ESCC with microsatellite-instability-high status. However, these subgroups represent a small fraction of ESCC cases, and there is an urgent need to identify other molecular targets for blockade, potentially prolonging the lives of patients with unresectable ESCC. The goal of this study is to screen for novel ESCC-related genes through transcriptome analysis of metastatic ESCC tissue and to identify new genes involved in ESCC metastasis.