A study to determine whether DNA polymorphism of ERCC1 has predictive value in head and neck cancer patients showed that polymorphic variation in DNA repair genes (XPD and XRCC1, not ERCC1) is a powerful prognostic factor for the response to cisplatin in SCCHN patients (Quintela-Fandino et al, 2006). Here, XRCC1 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.