Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Dec 15, 2026; 18(12): 124375
Published online Dec 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.124375
Published online Dec 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.124375
Transcriptomic analysis and experimental verification reveal the multiple roles of angiogenesis factors in esophageal cancer
Ling Xu, Department of Radiotherapy, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, The Second People’s Hospital of Changzhou, Changzhou 213003, Jiangsu Pro
Da Li, Tian Xu, Kun Zhang, Jing-Yao Feng, Li-Jun Hu, Jian-Lin Wang, Department of Radio
Co-first authors: Ling Xu and Da Li.
Co-corresponding authors: Li-Jun Hu and Jian-Lin Wang.
Author contributions: Xu L and Li D contribute equally to this study as co-first authors; Xu L, Li D, Feng JY, Hu LJ, and Hu LJ contributed to conceptualization; Xu L, Li D, and Zhang K contributed to data curation, investigation, project administration, and software; Xu L, Li D, Xu T, Feng JY, and Wang JL contributed to formal analysis; Xu L and Li D contributed to methodology and resources; Xu L, Li D, and Xu T contributed to visualization; Xu L, Li D, Xu T, Zhang K, Feng JY, and Wang JL contributed to writing - original draft; Xu L, Li D, Hu LJ, and Wang JL contributed to writing - review and editing; Xu T and Feng JY contributed to validation; Xu T contributed to supervision; Wang JL contributed to funding acquisition; Hu LJ and Wang JL contributed equally as co-corresponding authors. All authors approved the final version to publish.
AI contribution statement: Portions of this manuscript were edited using AI tools solely for language refinement. The authors carefully reviewed and verified all AI-assisted outputs and take full responsibility for the scientific content of the manuscript.
Supported by Top Talent of Changzhou “The 14th Five-Year Plan” High-Level Health Talents Training Project, No. 2022CZBJ070; Science and Technology Project of Changzhou Health Commission, No. ZD202313; Clinical Program of Changzhou Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, No. CMCC202401; Changzhou Sci&Tech Program, No. CJ20253095; and Changzhou University-Changzhou Second People’s Hospital Nursing Special Research Project, No. CDHL202503.
Institutional review board statement: The research protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Second People’s Hospital of Changzhou, No. 2022-0223.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Jian-Lin Wang, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Radiotherapy, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, The Second People’s Hospital of Changzhou, No. 468 Yanling Middle Road, Tianning District, Changzhou 213003, Jiangsu Province, China. wangjianlin@njmu.edu.cn
Received: June 15, 2026
Revised: July 13, 2026
Accepted: September 8, 2026
Published online: December 15, 2026
Processing time: 148 Days and 6.2 Hours
Revised: July 13, 2026
Accepted: September 8, 2026
Published online: December 15, 2026
Processing time: 148 Days and 6.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study highlights that angiogenesis factor-based model could be used as a promising variable for predicting the prognosis of esophageal cancer. When combined with experimental validation, our findings demonstrate the critical role of APLN in the development of esophageal cancer. They also offer a new theoretical and practical framework for classifying tumours functionally and developing personalized treatment strategies.