Positive staining for ESE3 was observed in all samples including normal esophageal epithelial tissues (30/30) and ESCC tissues (30/30) with comparable positivity rates (84.4% ± 12.7% vs 80.6% ± 14.9%, P>0.05), whereas ESE3 exhibited distinct subcellular localization patterns in normal esophageal epithelial cells compared with those in ESCC cells. The gene discussed is EHF; the disease is esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.