Abstract: Objective To explore the expression of Livin and caspase-3 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma（ESCC），and their relationship with clinical features. Methods The expressions of Livin and caspase-3 in 36 cases of ESCC and 20 cases of normal esophageal tissue（control group） were detected using SP method and their relationship with clinical pathological features was investigated. Results The positive rate of Livin in ESCC was 69.4％， higher than 10.0％ in control group（P=0.000）. The positive rate of caspase-3 in ESCC was 38.9％，lower than 80.0％ in control group（P=0.003）. The expression of Livin and caspase-3 was related with histological differentiation，serosal infiltration and lymph node metastasis，but not with sex and age. Negative association was found between the expressions of Livin and caspase-3 in ESCC tissue（r=-0.337，P=0.045）.
Conclusion Livin and caspase-3 play an important role in the occurrence and development of ESCC.