Despite the recognized therapeutic potential of programmed cell death protein 1/programmed death‐ligand 1 (PD‐1/PD‐L1) inhibitors in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), their role in neoadjuvant therapy and reliable efficacy biomarkers remain elusive. This evidence concerns the gene PDCD1 and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.