In the present study, we found that eIF4A3 interacted with circ-231 in HEK293T cells and ESCC (Fig. 1), enlightening us to explore whether eIF4A3 unwinds secondary structure through interacting with circ-231 and whether the mechanism is common to HEK293T cells and ESCC, which is significant to identify a potential therapeutic target in ESCC. This evidence concerns the gene EIF4A3 and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.