Results shown that promoter methylation of DAPK, RASSF1, p16 and MINT31 were significantly higher in HPV positive (+) HNSCC patients compared to HPV negative (-) patients (P = 0.031, 0.013, 0.031 and 0.015) (Fig 2B). Here, DAPK1 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.