HOXD9 and squamous cell carcinoma: Similarly, HOXD9, another member of the HOX gene family, is involved in cell adhesion and developmental processes, further supporting the earlier mention of HOXD10 and reinforcing their collective importance as epigenetic biomarkers in SCC 26 These findings suggest that these genes are strong candidates for further validation and might serve as valuable targets for developing liquid biopsy assays and cfDNA-based diagnostic tools for early detection and monitoring of squamous cell carcinomas.