Univariate analysis indicated that the factors significantly associated with PFS were Bin1 methylation status, TNM stage, invasion depth, tumor differentiation grade and lymph node metastasis (all P < 0.01), whereas age and gender were not related to the PFS time of ESCC patients (P = 0.762; P = 0.499). This evidence concerns the gene BIN1 and metastatic malignant neoplasm in the lymph nodes.