SOCS3 and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: Epigenetic silencing of SOCS3 has been reported in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) [7], suggesting that decreased expression of SOCS3 could represent an important cause of constitutive JAK/STAT activation in HNSCC and supporting the notion that SOCS3 could function as a tumor suppressor gene.