Gene-expression signature may be useful for the prediction of lymph node metastasis in esophageal cancer

Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the sixth most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide (1). Squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma are the dominant histological types of esophageal cancer (2). Squamous cell carcinoma, which mainly locates in the middle thoracic esophagus, predominates in the Eastern hemisphere (e.g., Japan), whereas adenocarcinoma of the distal esophagus predominates in the West (3). These two histological types present as different diseases in terms of their epidemiologic, histological, and molecular features, they require different therapeutic strategies.