Zhu Y, et al. - Researchers used The Cancer Genome Atlas HNSCC dataset, to assess the prognostic value of klotho (KL) and its promoter DNA methylation in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). They also evaluated their links with the autophagy gene LC3 and the RNA transferase gene NSUN2. They obtained upper quartile normalized RNA-seq V2 RSEM values of KL mRNA and beta value for KL methylation. They also evaluated the links between KL expression and methylation and patient survival by using Kaplan–Meier survival curves. They calculated the HRs and their 95% CIs by means of multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models. Findings revealed a negative link between KL gene expression and its promoter DNA methylation in HNSCC. They noted that KL methylation silenced its gene expression in HNSCC. Worse prognosis in HNSCC could potentially be indicated by low KL expression and high KL methylation. The KL expression in HNSCC could be due to LC3 and NSUN2.