The methylation statuses of the promoters of 11 tumor-related genes (p16, RASSF1A, E-cadherin, H-cadherin, MGMT, DAPK, DCC, COL1A2, TAC1, SST, and GALR1) were analyzed in 133 HNSCC cases using quantitative methylation-specific PCR. The gene discussed is DAPK1; the disease is head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.