Functional experiments have shown that silencing SBF2‐AS1 upregulates cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (CDKN1A) expression in ESCC, affceting cell cycle arrest and thereby restraining the proliferative ability of ESCC cells via arresting them at the G2 phase [32]. This evidence concerns the gene CDKN1A and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.