The pre-treatment sMICA levels (median, 43.1 pg/mL in HNSCC patients vs 0.0 pg/mL in healthy controls, p < 0.001) and TGF-β1 levels (median, 57.7 ng/mL in HNSCC patients vs 5.6 ng/mL in healthy controls, p < 0.001) were significantly elevated in HNSCC patients compared to healthy individuals (Fig 1). This evidence concerns the gene TGFB1 and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.