Toshio Nishikawa and colleagues found that in some ESCC cell lines (such as TE-1, TE-8, and TE-10), the level of mTOR phosphorylation was increased, accompanied by the upregulation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α). The gene discussed is MTOR; the disease is esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.