These studies have raised several critical questions, not least of which are: i) To what extent does TP53 status determine metabolic changes in SCCHN cells, for example would re-introduction of wild-type p53 re-establish metabolic flexibility and ii) in a more quantitative sense, what is the impact of TP53 status on the absolute, rather than relative, levels of respiratory and glycolytic metabolism? This evidence concerns the gene TP53 and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.