Our data support the notion that cuSCC, HNSCC, LUSC and ESCA SCC share deep molecular commonalities (Fig. 8a) at the mutational and transcriptional levels, and include deregulation of key pathways such as those driven by altered RB1, TP53 and TP63 function32, 34, 35, 63, 64, 65. The gene discussed is TP53; the disease is head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.