The results revealed that the 16 genes (CTSL, S100A12, SLC40A1, BMP4, FGF19, TNFSF10, CD14, PSME2, HLA-B, APLN, IGF2, CKLF, FABP9, IL1F10, TSLP, and OSM) were high-risk genes, while NR2F2, EGFR and BMP1 were low-risk genes in ESCC (Figure 5A). Here, CTSL is linked to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.