SALL4 and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: Since the findings of this research illustrated the overexpression of GDF3 as well as its significant clinicopathological relevance in ESCC, the existence of a similar regulatory network in ESCC and its significant involvement in the progression and invasiveness of the disease may be considered through probable molecular interactions between GDF3 and other stem cell markers such as SALL4 and SOX2 in WNT pathway.