ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the differentially expressed genes between human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and normal esophageal mucosa and explore an effective method with high throughput for screening the molecular markers closely correlated with the development, invasion and metastasis of ESCC.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>With cDNA microarray and laser capture microdissection, T7-based amplification were used to detect the mRNA from both the primary carcinoma and the corresponding esophageal epithelium in 15 ESCC cases, and the results were analyzed by bioinformatics methods.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among the 886 target genes, 110 (12.42%) genes were differentially expressed commonly at least twice in all the 15 samples, including 56 (6.32%) up-regulated by at least 2 folds and 54 (6.09%) down-regulated by at least 0.5 folds.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Many ESCC-associated genes were screened by the high-throughput gene chip method, and functional study of these genes may help to identify the key genes or pathways involved in the pathogenesis and development of ESCC.</p>