For ESCC and GC, PLCE1 showed the strongest association with a significance level (P = 5.00 × 10−5) that exceeded the Bonferroni-corrected threshold; a further four genes: ITPKA, SYNJ2, INPP5A and INPP4B were significantly associated with ESCC (P < 0.05); and five additional genes: ITPKC, ITPKB, INPPL1, MINPP1 and INPP5A were significantly associated with GC (P < 0.05; Table 1 and Figure 1). Here, ITPKA is linked to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.