en Medicine پژوهشي Research <div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Background and objectives</strong>: Esophageal cancer (EC) is the second most common gastrointestinal cancer, and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the dominant type of EC in Iran. One of the most important challenges in cancer management is the early diagnosis. As tumor suppressors or oncogenes, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a vital role in tumor initiation, progression and metastasis. Recent studies have reported dysregulated expression of lncRNAs in different tumor tissues including ESCC, which may indicate its prognostic or diagnostic potential in ESCC. In this study, we investigated expression pattern of lnc-POU3F3 in ESCC.<br> <strong>Methods</strong>: We performed quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to assess lnc-POU3F3 expression pattern in ESCC blood samples from 32 patients with ESCC and age- and sex-matched healthy controls.<br> <strong>Results:</strong> Lnc-POU3F3 was significantly overexpressed in ESCC blood samples compared to normal samples. In addition, this overexpression had a significant correlation with family history (P=0.03) and TNM stage (P=0.02).<br> <strong>Conclusion:</strong> According to the findings of the present study, lnc-POU3F3 may be used as a diagnostic biomarker for ESCC. However, studies with a larger sample size should be carried out to confirm this finding.</div> Esophageal cancer, ESCC, lncRNA, lnc-POU3F3 48 53 http://jcbr.goums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-30-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Halime Rahimnia حلیمه رحیم نیا 10031947532846001894 10031947532846001894 No Department of Biology, Gonbad Kavous University, Gonbad Kavous, Iran Abdolvahab Moradi عبدالوهاب مرادی 10031947532846001895 10031947532846001895 No Golestan Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran Naemeh Javid نائمه جاوید 10031947532846001896 10031947532846001896 No Golestan Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran Yasaman Fateri یاسمن فاطری 10031947532846001897 10031947532846001897 No Department of Biology, Gonbad Kavous University, Gonbad Kavous, Iran Shabbou Bahramian شب بو بهرامیان 10031947532846001898 10031947532846001898 No Golestan Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran Zahra Roohinejad زهرا روحی نژاد 10031947532846001899 10031947532846001899 No Golestan Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran Hossein Sabouri حسین صبوری 10031947532846001900 10031947532846001900 No *Correspondence: Eisa Jorjani, Department of Biology, Gonbad Kavous Univers Eisa Jorjani عیسی جرجانی 10031947532846001901 10031947532846001901 Yes Department of Biology, Gonbad Kavous University, Gonbad Kavous, Iran