Phosphorylated Smad2/3 is increased in stable cell lines with high cell division cycle-associated 7 (CDCA7) overexpression, and Smad4 is recruited to form the Smad complex, which binds to and inhibits the expression of the promoter sequence encoding the E-cadherin gene, promoting the EMT process of ESCC [37]. Here, CDCA7 is linked to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.