The diagnostic abilities of GPX3, MMP1, and MMP12 in discriminating ESCC from nontumor specimens confirmed excellent diagnostic values, with an AUC of 0.939 (95% CI 0.879–0.986) in MMP12, AUC of 0.959 (95% CI 0.916–0.990) in MMP1, AUC of 0.985 (95% CI 0.963–0.100) in GPX3, AUC of 0.962 (95% CI 0.922–0.990), and AUC of 0.924 (95% CI 0.853–0.979) (Figure 4). Here, MMP1 is linked to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.