In addition, high expression of ESCCAL-1 promoted the migratory and invasive capacity of ESCC cells (Supplementary Fig. 2A), whereas ESCCAL-1 knockdown decreased cell migration and invasion (Supplementary Fig. 2B, C), which was consistent with our previous findings that depletion of ESCCAL-1 reduced the metastatic potential of ESCC cells26,27. Here, CASC9 is linked to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.