RARS1 and cancer: This review briefly describes and summarizes some insightful oncotargets involved in the metabolic modulation of EC, including (1) cancer stem cells (CSCs) for EC progression, poor prognosis, tumor recurrence, and therapy resistance; (2) retinoic acid receptors (RARs) for esophageal carcinogenesis and regeneration; (3) phosphofructokinase (PFK) for EC-reprogrammed glycolysis; (4) lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) as an EC peripheral blood biomarker; and (5) hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) for the tumor microenvironment under hypoxic conditions.