NOTCH1 and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: Given the uncertain contributions of differential NF-κB and Notch signaling to tumor-induced lymphangiogenesis of ESCC, we here assessed the expression of NF-κB and Notch1 in ESCC tissues and evaluated their association with various clinical characteristics, including sex, age, lymph node metastasis, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classification, and differentiation (well, moderate, or poor grade) of tumor cells in ESCC.