PTCH1 and esophageal cancer: Some scholars demonstrated that the expression of SHH are associated with the survival outcome of the neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) in patients with ESCC,50 and the expression of PTCH1 and Gli1 may be significantly associated with ESCC resistance to chemoradiotherapy.51 Furthermore, inhibition of Hedgehog signaling can regulate radiation sensitivity in mouse xenograft models of human esophageal cancer.52 So, targeting the SHH pathway may become a novel approach to prevent or inhibit the progression of ESCC, this is consistent with our point of view.