In fresh samples from 10 ESCC patients, the mean SOX17 protein (0.826 ± 0.212 vs. 1.196 ± 0.483, P < 0.05) and mRNA (0.223 ± 0.373 vs. 1.611 ± 1.978, P < 0.05) expression levels in the ESCC tissues were significantly lower than the corresponding levels in the adjacent tissues (>5 cm away from the tumor). This evidence concerns the gene SOX17 and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.