Background & aim: Esophageal cancer is the eighth most prevalent cancer worldwide and the second in Iran. Annually, esophageal cancer makes up 3.2% of all new cancer cases. Altered expression of stem cells self-renewal genes is of great importance in the tumorigenesis. The aim of this study was to compare the TBX3 gene expression in tumoral samples of patients with squamous esophageal cancer and normal tissue samples of healthy individuals.

Methods: The present cross-sectional study was performed on 40 samples, including 20 samples of tumor esophageal cancer tissue and 20 samples of normal tissue samples from Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ahwaz, Iran. After extracting RNA from FFPE tissues and synthesizing cDNA, expression levels of TBX3 and GUSB (as internal control) genes were relatively quantified using qRT-PCR. Data were analyzed using t-test.

Results: The results of the qRT-PCR analyses showed that the average relative gene expression in tumor samples was higher than normal samples. Furthermore, TBX3 gene expression exhibited greater expression in the tumor samples of the patients in the 26-50 years age range in compared with the 51-81 years age range

Conclusion: According to the cancer stem cell theory, many tumors originated from stem cells leading to the inhibition of apoptosis and resistance to chemotherapy. Considering the role of TBX3 gene in self-renewal of stem cells and its increased expression in patients with squamous esophageal cancer, it seems that TBX3 gene might be used as a biomarker in the diagnosis and prognosis of esophageal cancer in future.