ALPK2 and carcinoma of esophagus: This study was aimed at investigating the roles of ALPK2 in EC development and progression and exploring the effect of ALPK2 expression on proliferation, migration, apoptosis, colony formation, and tumorigenesis of esophageal carcinoma cells and tissues in vitro and in vivo, furthermore revealing the regulatory mechanism of ALPK2 on PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathways and its upstream and downstream genes, intending to evaluate the effects of ALPK2 depletion on EC cell phenotypes.