TIMP3 and esophageal cancer: In other types of gastrointestinal cancer, such as esophageal cancer (EC), expression of TIMP-3 has been found in the cytoplasm of basal, parabasal, and stromal cells of the normal tissue as well as in the cytoplasm of cancerous cells; however, it was observed that expression was reduced in the deep areas of the tumor in relation to the superficial areas [46].