The present study demonstrated that VEGF protein expression levels were decreased when autophagy was inhibited in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells following treatment with 3-MA, and analysis of tumor microvessels stained with rabbit anti-mouse CD31 antibody revealed that combining autophagy inhibition with radiation significantly reduced tumor microvessel density in vivo. Here, VEGFA is linked to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.