Transglutaminase 3, which was underexpressed in the normal tissue of tumor patients in our study, was recently found to be downregulated in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma by cDNA microarray studies comparing cancer and matching normal tissue (Luo et al. 2003). Here, TGM3 is linked to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.