To determine if cetuximab triggers proinflammatory cytokine release from HNSCC cells, Cal-27 and SQ20B cells were treated with 1, 10 and 100 μg/mL cetuximab for 48 h and cell culture media was analyzed for IL-1α, IL-6 and IL-8 by ELISA. Here, IL1A is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.