To determine the expression of NUAK1 in ESCC, we first analyzed the mRNA level of NUAK1 using TCGA samples from UALCAN database (http://ualcan.path.uab.edu/index.html), the results showed that NUAK1 was highly expressed in ESCC specimens (n = 95) compared to that in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) (n = 89) and the adjacent normal tissues (n = 11) (Fig. 1A). The gene discussed is NUAK1; the disease is esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.