ESM1 and colorectal cancer: Several lines of evidence suggest that ESM-1 may be a potential marker for cancer diagnosis and prognosis and a therapeutic target for cancer treatment; ESM-1 levels in the serum of patients with gastric cancer or colorectal cancer were found to be significantly higher than those in healthy volunteers, and the overall survival was reduced in gastric cancer or colorectal cancer patients with high levels of serum ESM-1 compared with those with low levels, indicating a correlation with poor prognosis [18,19].