ALKBH1 and NSUN3 protein levels correlated in cancer cell lines16 (Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia) (Extended Data Fig. 1k), and a significant correlation of expression was also present in oesophageal carcinoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) datasets, as well as the corresponding normal tissues (Extended Data Fig. 1l,m). Here, NSUN3 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.