We found that high HOXA1 expression was associated with poor prognosis and high recurrence risk in HNSCC and LGG patients who had undergone postoperative radiotherapy, and in NPC patients who had undergone radical radiotherapy, whereas HOXA1 had no predictive value with respect to prognosis in patients who underwent surgery alone. Here, HOXA1 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.