Using this approach, we identified 21 genes as possible candidate cancer driver genes (Table 1), including 7 top candidate genes: TP53, FAT1, DSEL, CALML5, DCLRE1C, MUC16 and KBTBD8. A few are already established as cancer related in the Catalogue Of Somatic Mutations In Cancer [19] or previous HNSCC studies, i.e. TP53, FAT1 [20] and MUC16, while the other 4 could possibly be novel drivers:. Here, FAT1 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.