In a phase 1b clinical trial with 14 HNSCC patients enrolled, cetuximab together with a TLR8 agonist, motolimod, reversed MDSC-induced immunosuppression by inducing their conversion into M1 macrophages and improved antitumor immunity associated with increased number and function of tumor infiltrating CD8 T cells (Shayan et al., 2018). This evidence concerns the gene TLR8 and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.