At the same time, both preneoplastic and cancerous phenotypes exhibited weak/diffuse miR-143 ISH signals but moderate/strong cytoplasmic HK2 expression (Figure 3C and 3D), indicating down-regulation of the tumor suppressor, miR-143, leads to overexpression of HK2 and enhanced cell proliferation/ESCC development. This evidence concerns the gene HK2 and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.