The aim of the study is to compare the RNA-sequencing data to protein array and qRT-PCR and to clarify the effect of ZBTB7A on apoptosis. Overall design: HNSCC cell line SAS were infected with control (sh.con) and knockdown ZBTB7A (sh.ZBTB7A). Total RNA was subjected to mRNA enrichment, fragmentation, reverse transcription, library construction and sequencing (Genomics Co., Taipei, Taiwan). The transcriptome was then aligned according to the various genes' FPKM (Fragments Per Kb of transcript per Million mapped reads) values in order to detect discrepancies in the transcript levels within the various cells.