To investigate the causal link between UCHL1 promoter methylation and expression, we examined UCHL1 expression by qRT-PCR and immunoblotting assays in 6 NPC and 2 normal nasopharyngeal epithelial cell lines, and in 20 NPC and 17 normal nasopharynx tissue samples. Here, UCHL1 is linked to nasopharyngeal carcinoma.