By analyzing the LncRNA expression data of GSE120356 (5 pairs of ESCC specimens) and GSE53622 (60 pairs of ESCC specimens) from GEO, we found that ESCCAL-1 was one of the most significantly upregulated lncRNAs in ESCC compared to the matched normal tissues (Fig. 1A). Here, CASC9 is linked to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.