TWIST1 and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: EMT is also believed to have an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis, with TWIST1 upregulation enhancing this ability in different types of cancer cells [5, 6] including melanoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, ESCC, and breast, uterine, prostate, pancreatic, gastric and cervical cancers [7–9].