In this report, we find that mutating the miR301a-3p binding sites, that are also in the FXR1 binding region, in the p21 3’-UTR resulted in increased luciferase activity in the presence of FXR1, suggesting that both FXR1 and miR301a-3p are required to repress p21 in oral cancer cells. This evidence concerns the gene CDKN1A and lip and oral cavity carcinoma.