These shared features between normal stem cells and CSCs have a molecular basis in several of the pathways used by stem cells for cellular differentiation and replication including Nanog, Oct-4, and Notch, and have been isolated in a variety of malignancies, including oropharyngeal head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Here, POU5F1 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.