Consistent with this result, microarray analysis of the gene expression profiles of 119 paired ESCC specimens and adjacent normal oesophageal epithelium tissues (Supplementary Fig. 1c), and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of tissue arrays containing 81 paired ESCC specimens and adjacent normal oesophageal epithelium tissues (Fig. 1b, c) showed that METTL3 expression levels were significantly higher in the ESCC tissues than in the paired adjacent normal tissues. The gene discussed is METTL3; the disease is esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.