These results strongly indicate that tyrosine kinase dysregulation, particularly EGFR, is an important molecular event in the Tgfbr1/Pten 2cKO mouse model of HNSCC carcinogenesis and the deletion of Tgfbr1 or Pten increased the expression and phosphorylation of total EGFR. Here, TGFBR1 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.