Thus, integration of metabolomics with transcriptomics [16] & microRNA profiling data [28] in the hyperplastic ZD esophagus revealed that deregulated glucose uptake is accompanied by miR-143 down-regulation and up-regulation of the hexokinase gene Hk2. This result is consistent with reports that miR-143 is an essential regulator of cancer glycolysis by targeting HK2 in cancer cells, including lung cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma, and colon cancer cells [36-39]. Here, HK2 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.