Combining these results with survival analysis and correlation analysis between stroma-related signatures and pseudotime in the trajectory, we finally determined several stromal activation markers, including MMP11, COL6A2, COL1A2, CTHRC1, FAP, and LUM, which were common between ESCC and ESAD (Fig. 7C, Fig. S6). Here, CTHRC1 is linked to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.