We compared DNA methylation and ARF/INK4a RNA expression levels for the CDKN2A locus using the Illumina HumanMethylation27 beadchip and RT‐PCR in 43 LXSCC tumor samples collected from a prospective study of head and neck cancer patients treated at Montefiore Medical Center (MMC). This evidence concerns the gene CDKN2A and head and neck cancer.