We believe that these findings are linked to the tumor suppressive effects of STAT1C in ESCC, as previous studies have shown that the relative proportions of STAT1 homodimers, STAT3 homodimers and STAT1:STAT3 heterodimers dictate the cell fate [21, 49, 50]. The gene discussed is STAT1; the disease is esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.