BIRC2 and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: BIRC2 is more commonly altered in HPV- HNSCC (7 % of cases versus 3 % of cases in HPV+ HNSCC) and, as would have been predicated based on functionality, CASP8 was also frequently detected as inactivated through mutations or homozygous deletion (11 % of HPV- cases; Fig. 1a).