Through differential expression analysis, we identified 13 TCDRGs that were aberrantly expressed in HNSCC, with 7 genes (TGFB1, IL2RA, FOXP3, STAT1, IFNG, IL21R, and LAT) being significantly upregulated and 6 genes (IL22, IL6ST, IL17F, FOS, RXRG, and IL6) being significantly downregulated (Table S2, Supplemental Digital Content, http://links.lww.com/MD/O281). Here, IL21R is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.