A recent study showed that low expression levels of Nkx2.8 in ESCCs inversely correlate with progression, and Nkx2.8 suppressed NF-kB activation by directly targeted the AKIP1 promoter; silencing Nkx2.8 promotes ESCC cell proliferation and angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo [10]. Here, NKX2-8 is linked to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.