In this study, we also measured the mRNA expression of apoptosis-related genes in esophageal carcinoma TE-8 cells and the results revealed that the mRNA expression of caspase-3 and Bax was significantly higher in the cells treated with a high dose of the compound (0.8 mg/ml) compared with the control group, whereas the mRNA expression of Bcl-2 markedly decreased in the cells treated with the compound compared with control group. The gene discussed is CASP3; the disease is carcinoma of esophagus.